


Runaways

by candlelitshadows



Series: Runaways Series [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones, Baby Blue (Bittybones) - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pappy (Bittybones) - Freeform, Past Abuse, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-12 17:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candlelitshadows/pseuds/candlelitshadows
Summary: Severa Tucker is a young adult trying to get from Point A to Point B in her life. Juggling her job and school work was never much of a problem for her as long as she kept to her routine, but life deals with her a new hand in the form of two small bitties raiding her kitchen in the wee morning hours.-“You’re not the ferret.” Severa stated as the two small raiders stared at her with widen eye sockets in shock. It was not a ferret, but rather two bitties. Two skeleton bitties. Wait, what?-





	1. The Day of Noise

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I actively wrote a fan fiction, so this might be a bit messy. ^^" I tried my best to edit it and I hope it shows.

Severa’s head rested on one of the several break room tables trying to fathom the true capacity of the human lungs. Her co-worker’s loud shouting was slipping through her earphones' music with ease. She groaned inward unable to drown out the noise. She threw a glance toward the aqua blue clock resting on the wall above the vending machine she sat across from. She still had a good ten minutes until she could finally leave work. If she had known JayJ was going to arrive early “as a surprise”, Severa would've taken some books with her. At least then, she could’ve done something productive with her “surprise” free time rather than sit in the uncomfortable chair being drove up the wall by her annoying co-worker.  
  
The twenty two year old gazed at the clock, watching the hands inch their way around. She wanted to focus on anything other than her co-worker’s noise level. Keri seemed to have lost something, but was it necessary to keep screeching like a banshee? Severa let out a giggle at the comparison.  
  
“What the hell are you laughing about?!”  
  
Severa didn’t flinch at the loaded tone and retorted, “A banshee.” Her head never left the table even when the fellow woman gave out a loud _hmph_ returning to her phone call. The young woman decided to eavesdrop a bit. After all, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… even if they don’t know.  
  
“It is **fine**.” Keri spat out. “It is a low grade imbecile being rude. Anyway, you need to find them ASAP. Do I make myself clear?”  
  
'Ah, Keri Bateson at her finest.' Severa thought to herself as she zoned out, not even listening for a solid minute. There was a reason she didn’t like the woman after all. The attitude had left to be desired and her way of treating people was even worse. Severa prided herself as a master at holding her tongue and saving face, but a Keri Bateson always made her want to break that and just deck a bitch. Alas, that would be hard to reason… within legal means.  
  
She bent down on the right side of the chair, grabbing blindly for the bag that rested next to her. Her head was beginning to hurt against the hard plastic of the table and her bag should make a decent cushion of sorts. The female wasn’t going to be picky at the moment. She finally felt the bag in her grasp, giving herself a silent cheer of triumph before pulling it onto the table. The black tote bag Severa carried around held all sort of things from her small makeup bag, the fish encyclopedia to random batteries, canola bars and a possible small liquor bottle or two. It had things she used on a daily basis, so it was to remain in there. Although, nothing hurt as much as the banshee’s current screeching causing Severa’s head to pound.  
  
Severa laid her head on the tote returning to the clock on the wall. The minutes ticking away were agony to the young woman, wishing for time to slip away quicker. The room soon filled with the Keri’s constant screaming and the energized beat of the dubstep that slipped through Severa’s earphones. The latter was fading out as another song began, one that the college student knew very well. A grin spread over her features as she planted her face onto the bag, giggling softly and letting the lyrics slip out as the music played.  
  
“...let the bodies hit the floor...” Her voice was low, but she obviously knew the lyrics from her whispers of them. She mumbled out the lyrics for-going the actual hard rock beat of the real song. She kept in tune with the beat, fingernails drumming the rhythm. She knew she sounded ridiculous, but it was better noise than the screeching and a decent way to pass the time. An old trick she learned long ago.  
  
That was just what she did and as soon as the clock struck 6, Severa was up and headed toward the door. As she grabbed the handle a voice that made her pause rang out. A voice she’d rather not hear any longer. She shouldn’t have turned down the volume yet.  
  
“You need to be more aware of other people, Tucker.” Severa’s head spun to meet the stern look from her co-worker. Before she could even respond, Keri continued on. “It is rude to be loud when someone is on the phone or were you not taught manners in that second rate school of yours?” Keri’s hand fell to her hip as she turned her look to a hard stare, reprimanding the younger woman.  
  
The young woman in question held the stare of Keri’s for several tense seconds before gaining a sickly sweet smile. “I don’t understand. What does my schooling have anything to do with your screeching?”  
  
That seemed to the wrong thing to say since Keri stomped her foot in response and leaned closer to Severa. Keri had a good few inches of height on Severa, but she wouldn't be intimidated by height and kept that smile on her face. Keri began again with a scowl etched over her pretty features. “It seems not only do you lack manners, but respect as well. Do I need to get you an urgent lesson ready, Tucker?”  
  
The silence that fell upon the two women was thick and it dragged on so long that a proud grin exploded on Keri’s face. Well, until Severa finally responded.  “There are also manners in regards to the person on the cell phone. Practice what you preach before you try to lecture me about manners, Bateson. Respect like manners are a two way street. You receive what you give, girl. Adios.” And with that, Severa was out the door.  
  
Severa sped walk to the front gate of the Ebott Aquarium she worked at. While on most days she would take her time at the end of her shift and gaze at the underwater beauty around her. Today, she was on a time crunch and she **needed** to keep the distance between her and the banshee. She had had enough of Keri Bateson for the next decade, but with her luck this would come back to bite her in the ass. Any time she never held her tongue she would always have some sort of backlash. Whether it ended up being good or bad was never seen until a later date. Severa wasn't afraid to talk back, voice her opinion or anything of the sort, it was just a pain at the end of the day. It was another thing to deal with and something that could bring chaos to her stable, routine-driven life. She really _really_ didn't wish for that bullshit to enter her life.  
  
Upon reaching the front of the building, Severa spotted a very well aged woman with faded brown hair and a simple smile directed toward the customers entering the aquarium. Severa was about to ruin that. “Hey, boss.” Severa greeted with a honeyed voice that the elder woman caught since the smile instantly fell from her expression.  
  
“Hello, Severa… What can I do for you?” The woman inquired slowly giving her worker a matching look. The older woman named Velma Farley was Severa’s boss at the Ebott Aquarium. She held the title of the Director (or “Dictator” if you got on her bad side) for the past ten years at the institution and it has grown tremendously under her authority.  
  
“It’s not really what you can do for me, but what I can do for you.”  
  
“You sound like an insurance salesman.”  
  
“I am so much better than that useless garbage.”  
  
“The gunk I find on the bottom of my shoes are better than insurance salesmen, child.”  
  
“Well thanks for labeling me as gunk.”  
  
“You’re welcome.” Velma giggled, gaining her loose smile momentarily before continuing. “So what did you need to tell me?”  
  
“Oh, I opened my mouth at the banshee.” Severa answered, her gaze flickering to the side before returning to meet her supervisor's.  
  
Velma’s eyebrows shot up at the confession of her worker, but held to a new puzzled expression. “I… I am not sure what that means, Severa.” Her worker has once again said something that made absolutely no sense to Velma. Severa has a tendency to phrase things strangely, but has mentioned they make perfect sense in her own head.  
  
“Keri. I got smart with Keri.” Severa rephrased. “She was screaming over the phone in the break room about losing something…”. The young woman’s explanation trailed off before shrugging to herself then reverting her attention to her boss.  
  
“Ah, I see. That was pretty stupid to do, Severa.” Velma scolded her worker then placed her hand on her shoulder giving out a gentle smile. “I wish I were there to witness it.”  
  
This caused a giggle to slip from Severa as she gave her boss a sly grin in response. “She might be kind of...". She trailed off, looking anywhere else and rotating her hand in a circular motion thinking. Velma’s hand fell from Severa’s shoulder in the process though still holding her boss’ attention. “Pissy?”  
  
“Pissy? Is that the best word you can come up with?”  
  
“It's past 6, so my brain has left the building like I, myself, should be doing.”  
  
“Have a nice night then!” Velma called after Severa’s scurrying form. If Severa heard, she made no indication that she did and Velma went back to greeting the late arrivals and the leaving customers. A small mental note made to speak with Keri later on about the personal phone call.  
  
Severa fled out the door the next moment and met with the bright light of the sun. Summer was in full swing if it was still daylight this late in the afternoon and it gave Severa a small hop in her step. Now, she didn’t have a problem with any seasons. She didn’t have a favorite, but summer had its long daylight hours and short nightlife. She wouldn’t be walking home in the dark from work for a while, plus summer meant vacation from college. That was always a good time, right? No assignments and projects needed to be done. No annoying classmates pestering her for her notes, or her professor throwing things at her when she falls asleep in the lecture.  
  
Severa grinned at the thought as she walked to her appropriate bus stop. She put her earphones back in returning to the remixes blasting away. She continuously hums to the new song coming from her speakers albeit at a more reasonable volume. Without the banshee screeching in the background, she had no reason to be trying to block out the excessive noise with more noise. She was able to hear the two other occupants of the stop chattering away. Severa waited until the city bus came rolling up and the awaiting passengers piled in. The ride was uneventful, but once you’ve done something repeatedly it loses any sort of anticipation of change. It was just another bus ride for Severa and it was enough for her.  
  
The ride took about 10 minutes to get to her stop that rested in front of her apartment complex. Exiting the bus, she made her way through the security doors of the complex after typing in her code.  
  
“Welcome back, Severa.” A voice greeted Severa as she walked into the lobby of the building and yanked out her earphones to wrap around her neck.  
  
Severa walked toward the wall of mailboxes searching for her apartment number. “Hey, Joyce.” Severa called back as she grabbed her mail from it after locating it and unlocking it. She shut the box hearing an automatic _click_ then turned toward Joyce. Joyce was the owner and operator of the building ergo, Severa’s landlady. She was a woman of average stature, frizzy brown hair and dark eyes that were always on alert for anything. “Where’s your freeloader?” Severa asked while walking toward the lobby desk that the older woman sat at.  
  
“Last time I saw my nephew he was trying to find the ferret. By the way, the ferret it loose again.” Joyce warned while looking back to her computer.  
  
“Noted. Tell August I said ‘hi’ when ya see him later.”  
  
“Will do.”  
  
With that Severa made her way to the stairs and began the climb to the seventh floor. While there was an elevator in the complex, Severa hardly ever took it unless it was absolutely necessary. She arrived at her floor and made quick work to her door and practically barreled through it. “Finally, home sweet home!” Severa called out kicking her door closed in the process. “Now time to clean that black hole called my study. Yay.”  
  
She placed her black tote on the small kitchen table that was visible as soon as you entered the apartment and traded it for the trash bags she placed there before leaving earlier that morning. If she wasn’t going to do it now, she wouldn’t do it for a while longer and that place was becoming a hazard. A hazard that would be perfect for a certain ferret to live in too. She hoped that she wouldn’t find that thing in there. She didn’t need her apartment to smell anymore than it already did after all. With that final thought, Severa made her way to her study that was directly across from her bedroom.  
  
She started with the trash that accumulated the past few weeks that she spent in this room then moved onto organizing her textbooks, old papers she would go through later and various other things that had her letting time slip away. The only reason she stopped the cleaning was because her phone was going off in the kitchen. Right, she left it on her tote bag. Severa gazed toward her desktop’s time seeing it was past nine o’clock. She’d been at it for over two hours and gazing around, it was obvious she made a good dent in the mess that she made while chugging through the final weeks of her college semester. It was a good time to stop for the day and restart tomorrow Severa decided and exited the room to the kitchen where her phone was.  
  
“I should grab it before I forget again...” Severa sighed while shutting off her alarm and making her way in the direction of the bathroom smacked between the two separate rooms. She grabbed an orange bottle from her sink then snapped her head toward the door.  
  
_Thunk_.  
  
What was that? Did something just drop? Severa sped out of the door and rounded the corner to see a clear view of her kitchen. She glanced around seeing… nothing? But that made no sense. “Prince?” Severa called out. Prince was the name of the complex ferret. Maybe he was in the apartment? Although… “I don’t smell anything. Prince? Are you in here, dude?” Severa repeated for the ferret while walking around the small area hoping to hear something again. It was then she noticed her encyclopedia on the ground. She picked it up and placed it on the table, grabbed her tote seeing it wide opened with its contents spilling out. She couldn’t see it since it was turned toward the front door, out of her view. Did she forget to close it? She wouldn’t be surprised if she did. The young woman shrugged it off then made her way to the cupboard above her stove. She yanked the door opened and pulled out the container of oreos inside of it. She ate some of the sweets while reading the prescription label she grabbed from her bathroom.  
  
She glanced toward her tote bag then placed the bottle on the counter next to the oreos. She looked at the time of her phone and saw it was closer to ten and shoved it into her jacket pocket. “I’ll just try to sleep without them.” Severa declared to herself then retired to her room for the night. She changed into one of her nightshirts and shorts and went to bed. She spent some time tossing and turning, but soon got taken in by darkness.

* * *

  
_Thunk_.

Something dropped again and the young woman’s eyes snapped opened as more noises were heard. She slowly sat up in her bed gazing toward her door with a hard stare. There was something in her apartment. She got out of bed sneaking a peak at her phone seeing it was nearly one in the morning. This was a normal time for the ferret to start causing a mess in her apartment. Dammit. Severa cursed internally as she edged her way to the bedroom door with the noises getting more clear. It sounded like something was rummaging through something? Was Prince getting into the oreos that she left on the counter?  
  
“Prince, those are my oreos, dammit!” Severa snapped exiting her room to the kitchen to retrieve her treats from the animals. She stopped though in front of the counter seeing… two frozen creatures in her oreos.  
  
“You’re not the ferret.” Severa stated as the two small raiders stared at her with widen eye sockets in shock. It was not a ferret, but rather two bitties. Two skeleton bitties. Wait, **what**?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this little bittybones au story I'm working on. I'd like to explain some things related to this story for future reference, so please stay until the end. The tags mention that I will be updating them down the road which is true. I'm currently finalizing the events of the story and I want the tags to be clear on what to expect on this story, so no one will be shocked and/or made uncomfortable when they come up. 
> 
> It might take a bit for me to do so though... Sorry for that! I doubt the rating will go up though, but the warning might change to "Graphic Depictions of Violence". That'll make the rating go up too. I'll try to make sure it doesn't.


	2. The Little Skeleton Intruders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severa tries to deal with her a-ferret little bitty problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest. I'm not happy with this chapter, but it is technically done. I am just done with it. I've been fighting with this chapter and fighting off the flu at the same time. It is not fun. I don't recommend it. I also don't recommend trying to edit a story functioning on flu medicine and lack of sleep.
> 
> *Edited a bit to make it more clear that who Lucia was.

Severa leaned against the counter top glancing behind her momentarily to check if the KEURIG was running. Once she noted it was, she looked back to the bitties currently sitting on her table. They were eating a variety of fruits that Severa cut up for them, but getting them to do so turned out to be a challenge. The duo vanished on Severa the second they were out of her eyesight. She hadn’t heard any sounds that indicated that they left and yet, they _were_ gone.  
  
After a short scouting mission in the general area, she managed to find them hiding in her tote bag. That was thanks to the moving imprints in the bag’s fabric. She tried to coax them out with the smell of fruit, but that failed somewhat. She ended up requesting them to help her finish the fruit she placed out on the table next to her tote. She had bought too much and it would help immensely if they ate it instead of it going to waste. It seemed to do the trick since the small creatures slowly made their way out of the bag and began eating the fruit. That’s where they were now.  
  
She still needed to reassure them beforehand, but then they were soon eagerly shoving their faces with the food. It left Severa with a familiar, bad taste in her mouth. It was difficult to get them to eat fruit, even if they obviously hungry. It seemed clear their goal was to get away from Severa. Did they view her as a threat or something to be cautious of? The thought made more curiosity bubble in Severa about the two bitties on her table, but also a sense of concern.  
  
Severa observed the bitties from where she stood with the sounds of her coffee spilling from the KEURIG into her mug accompanying them. In the kitchen light she had a better view of the skeleton bitties than just from the dull one from above the oven where she first encountered them. Their condition was appalling. Severa could clearly see the discoloration of their bones, their clothes (if you could call the simple shirt and pants they were wearing that) were covered in stains; … were those cracks in their bones? Severa felt her eye twitch. The only thing that seemed in a decent condition were the bright colored pieces of cloth they both wore around their necks. She grabbed the mug once it finished and drank some of the contents straight. The crisp smell of hazelnut and subtle taste of vanilla permeated her senses giving Severa the awaken jolt she needed to begin her prodding. She glanced toward the clock on the hanging microwave seeing it was still ungodly early. Good thing she didn’t have much to do today.  
  
“So how did you get into my apartment?” Severa questioned toward her two small intruders. The bitties froze, refusing to look her way.  
  
Silence lingered for a bit before Severa added on. “I need to know you two. If you two can get in, god knows what else can. I don’t want to find raccoons eating my face one night.”  
  
"THAT IS A HORRIFYING IMAGE, HUMAN." The taller bitty blurted to Severa who shrugged.  
  
“So is my face in the mornings, so the help isn't necessary.”  
  
That seemed to have an effect on the duo on her table. They both held a complex expression that Severa was convinced was a twist between horror and disgust. This caused a shit-eating grin to spread across her lips. That earned her a snort from the shorter one.  
  
“Aw, don’t like my humor?”  
  
“NOT SO MUCH, HUMAN.”  
  
“That’s a shame. I personally thought it was a good bite to start off.”  
  
“HUMAN, I THI-” The shorter one stopped mid-sentence causing Severa to force down a twitch of her mouth. “WAS THAT A PUN?”  
  
“Too much to chew?”  
  
“HUMAN!”  
  
Severa couldn’t hold it any longer. She howled in laughter, reaching behind herself to grasp the counter. Their reactions were **perfect** . She heard a sharp stomp from the table and one requested for her to stop the “maddening puns”. After regaining herself, Severa took another swing of her coffee with a thoughtful expression.  
  
“Alright,” she set her mug down and made her way to the small skeletons. “I will halt my grand puns if you two spill how you got in. Deal?”  
  
“DEAL!” The agreed swiftly before it dawned on them. Their relaxed composure was short lived and it was not lost on Severa.  
  
“Tell me, dudes.”  
  
The silence returned with a vengeance engulfing the kitchen area. Severa’s gaze never left the duo, so they couldn’t run away again. After several more agonizing seconds, Severa let out a small laugh.  
  
“You act like I’m going to bite you two.” Severa was met with silence. “I am not going to bite you. I am not even mad if that’s what you’re scared of.”  
  
“B-but we… entered your home, human!” The taller one spoke out, finally. His volume dropped drastically. Were they that scared?  
  
“So does the complex ferret and by now I'm just tired of that thing and his smell. That thing gets in by my vents, my balcony, and through my front door. So which was yours?”  
  
The two bitties shared a glance and nodded to one another seemingly deciding on something since the taller one spoke out. “YOUR DOOR, HUMAN.”  
  
Severa picked up her mug once more. “Alright then. Anything else? I didn’t see you two run in with me.”  
  
“WE WERE WITH YOU THE ENTIRE TIME.”  
  
“...” Severa blinked then turned her gaze to her tote and gestured with her mug. “My bag? Were you in my tote?”  
  
“YES, HUMAN. DO YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A NICE VOICE?” Did the short one’s eye lights turn into stars? Oh, that’s adorable.  
  
Severa stared in awe before nodding slowly. “Oh, uh… thanks.” When did they hear her sing though? He also liked it? She got told her voice was decent, but she always thought it was still an acquired taste. “Alright. So you got an owner or guardian?”  
  
“... NO.”  
  
Severa clicked her tongue. “There must be someone who cares for you two.”  
  
“WELL THERE WAS…” The shorter one trailed off. Both looked close to tears suddenly. Ouch. Guess she hit a sore spot.  
  
Severa sighed. “I see. Then…” Severa trailed off and was met with silence once again. She watched the two squirm in place looking everywhere, but at her. They seemed to do that often. Severa could only guess why but, either way, they were getting nowhere.  
  
She set her mug down after drinking the remaining contents in one go and clapped her hands together gaining their attention. Perhaps she should go about a different way. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen skeleton bitties. It still amazes me just how cool your types are.”  
  
The duo grew color on their cheek bones at her words, but a question arose. “... WE HAVE TYPES?” The apartment was soon filled with Severa’s howling laughter. “WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.”  
  
“Aaah. Don’t worry about it, dude.” Severa waved them off after calming down then sat down in one of the chairs at the table. “To answer your first question, yes, there are a variety of bitties. You two are skeleton bitties, which have sub-categories to them.”  
  
Severa looked directly at the bitty wearing a bright blue bandana around his neck and examined his looks. “Now I’m not 100% knowledgeable about bitties, but I can tell you that you-” She gestured toward the smaller one. “-are most likely a Baby Blue.”  
  
The baby blue didn’t seem to like that answer as he shouted with clear frustration. “I AM NOT A BABY.” It made Severa laugh once again.  
  
“It’s just a type name, dude. It has nothing to do with who you are.” The shorter bitty flushed blue. Severa turned her attention to the taller one. He gazed back at her with an expression she couldn’t place.  
  
“HUMAN. WHAT AM I?” The taller bitty stepped closer to Severa nearly bouncing with anticipation. The sight made Severa crack a small smile. The taller bitty was just as cute as the baby blue.  
  
“Do you sleep a lot?”  
  
“WHAT?” He seemed confused by the question. “SLEEP? I SLEEP FOR AN APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TIME. NO MORE AND NO LESS. NYEHEHEHE.”  
  
Severa blinked several times. “Pappy. You are a Pappy.” The Pappy laughed once more, somewhat louder than before. It seemed their nervousness was gone again, at least momentarily. Severa motioned to the fruit in the bowl and mentioned. “There are still fruit remaining in the bowl. I didn’t mean to interrupt your midnight meal with my prodding. Sorry.”  
  
The duo grinned up at Severa which made her pause and almost miss their response of a loud 'THANK YOU'. They resumed eating and Severa could only stare at them now.  
  
That... that was odd. She hadn't expected them to smile at her like that. It confused her. Weren't they scared and/or nervous of her? Why did they suddenly smile at her like that if they were? Then again, Bitty Bones were known to be very receptive to affection, so perhaps it was that? What was it that Mama Cry told her during one of their visits when her and Avery went to go see the firefly?  
  
“HUMAN.”  
  
Severa snapped out of her thoughts and responded. “Yeah, dude?”  
  
“WHAT IS YOUR NAME?”  
  
“My name? Severa. Severa Tucker.”  
  
“NICE TO MEET YOU HUMAN SEVERA!” The baby blue practically shouted in joy. Severa had to hold back a twitch of her mouth.  
  
“Nice to eat you too.”  
  
“HUMAN!!” The duo scolded in unison. “WHY?!” She swore she could hear one shout “NYEH”.  
  
Severa nearly fell out of her seat from laughter.

* * *

  
  
“... -ure he wasn’t in his usual places?”  
  
“Auntie, I searched for the furry thing for hours yesterday. Even if it was, it probably ran off before I saw it! It’s pointless for me to chase it down when it always ends up coming back on its own anyhow.”  
  
Severa heard a pair of voices talking as she reached the final step of the stairs making contact with the lobby. She left the bitties, on her couch in a barrier fort of blankets and pillows, watching her television momentarily to come downstairs. When she stop her laughing fit earlier, she decided to waste time with the television. She made the fort for the bitties for shits and giggles and because she felt like they could use a barrier of sorts for themselves. They were still nervous around Severa and their present situation… most likely. They seemed hesitant to move from the table, but once the duo noticed the fort, they changed their tune. The three spent some time watching random television shows or rather, Severa watched the duo play with her remote and the TV. It was refreshing to her, but when the sun started to show more she needed to move. She wanted to speak with August and Joyce and it looks like she didn’t have far to look.  
  
“I know he does,” Joyce sighed heavily. “But still, it’s a hazard to have Prince running around to gods knows where.”  
  
“Then attach the Go-Pro to him like August keeps suggesting. You wouldn’t have a problem finding the furry bastard then.” Severa interjected as she walked up to her landlady and August. August was Joyce’s nephew who went to same university as Severa and helped around the complex in exchange for housing. He was a taller young man with similar looks to his aunt, but a more causal version.  
  
“Oh, Severa, good morning. You are up awfully early.” Joyce greeted with confusion clear on her features.  
  
“Like old Adams would let us attach her precious Prince with a Go-Pro even if it would help.” August snorted. “It would be easier to just kick her out.”  
  
“August!”  
  
“What?!”  
  
“Not another word about that!” Joyce snapped causing August to look away and grumble to himself. Joyce turned her attention to Severa then.  
  
“What are you doing up? Couldn’t sleep again?” A worried tone drenched Joyce’s questions.  
  
“I heard noises in my apartment that woke me up.” Severa explained to Joyce. It wasn’t usual for Severa to be awake at odd hours and come down to the lobby to speak with Joyce or August to past the time. It was a routine by now.  
  
“Was Prince in your apartment?” August inquired staring straight Severa with hopeful eyes. Severa crushed it with a shake of her head and August hung his.  
  
“Nope, turned out to be a pair of bitties.”  
  
“...What?” August voiced out. Joyce and him shared a look of confusion.  
  
“I woke up to a pair of skeleton bitties eating my oreos. Granted I left them out, but I thought Prince was in my apartment when I did. I was hearing noises before I went to bed, so I thought perhaps it was just Prince being difficult and not coming out.”  
  
“So you tried to get him out with oreos?” Joyced barked out. “That could’ve poisoned him!”  
  
“We wouldn’t have to worry about him,” August countered, but Severa cut him off before he could continue.  
  
“August, we know you dislik-”  
  
“ **Hate.** ” August corrected Severa who sighed.  
  
“-fine, hate Prince, but that doesn’t mean you get to continuously be an ass to the thing. He’s an animal. If you have to be upset at anyone, be so at Ms. Adams since she refuses to cooperate with you two regarding Prince.”  
  
“That’s because the only thing August suggests is termination or attaching the Go-Pro.”  
  
“At least it’s a suggestion!”  
  
“Before you two start your back and forth can we get back to the fact that I have two lost or possibly abandoned bitties in my apartment at the moment?”  
  
Joyce glared at her nephew several seconds longer before giving the young woman her attention. “If you are going to ask me if there are any reported missing bitties in my complex, that’s a big no. None of my residents mentioned anything about missing bitties and I’m pretty sure the few who do have them do not have skeleton bitties.”  
  
“There was Peter on the fourth floor that had a skeleton bitty, but I only remember that that thing always bit everyone.” August added on. “He moved out two years ago though, so I doubt that bitty would’ve stayed hidden successfully that long if he had stayed behind.”  
  
“Considering these two didn’t bite me, much less threaten me in anyway, I can cross that off the list.” Severa sighed heavily. She came down here for possible answers, but it looks like she wasn’t getting them that easy.  
  
“What do you plan to do with them then, Sev? It’s not like you couldn’t take care of them if you wanted. You handled Chester well for most of your life, right? Bitties can’t be that different from him.”  
  
“You are comparing small monsters with a bird, August.” Severa chuckled. “... They are in terrible shape. They have gray bones. Skeleton bitties normally have pearl white bones. I saw enough of them at Mama Cry’s those few times.” Severa bit her bottom lip then shook her head. “If anything my first priority is getting them back to a good condition. I’ll figure it out after that. It’s not like my morals will just let me throw them out or give them to Mama Cry’s so easily anyway.”  
  
“Who’s Mama Cry?”  
  
“Mama Cry is a monster who runs a bitty adoption center. The best one in my opinion.” Severa clarified to August then excused herself insisting she’s been away from the duo for too long and went back.  
  
“... Go find the ferret!”  
  
As Severa made her way to the stairwell, she heard August groan causing her to giggle at her friend’s misfortune. There was no way August was going to be finding that royal pain anytime soon.

* * *

  
Even though she sped off to the stairwell, she took her sweet time making it to her apartment. The sounds of her footsteps echoed in the silence of seventh floor hall. There was only two other residences that lived on Severa’s floor and she knew neither began moving until after 10 am or early afternoon. The chance of other noises were slim since it was still only after 4 in the morning. She reached her door and stood in front of the wood not yet reaching for the handle. She stared hard at the glossy coating of the door with thoughts of the two creatures inside clustering her mind. She’d been with them for only mere hours and she could already tell some things about them:

  1. **They didn’t like puns, yet somehow relaxed at hearing them**. 



Severa shook her head. She’d let out so many stupid puns and bad jokes for the past few hours than she had in a long time. She was kind of sick of them herself, but it was the only way they were able to stay calm enough for her and them to have a conversation.

  1. **They didn’t hold much knowledge about themselves.**



Now this shouldn’t be as alarmingly as it was since most bitties barely know much about themselves, but bitties knew their own types. These two _didn’t_.

  1. **They refused or were wary of talking about their (former?) caretaker.**



When Severa asked them about it in their first exchanged, they were near tears when she tried to pry it out of them. It was heartbreaking to see to say the least.

  1. **They were (probably) abandoned and _not_ treated well.**



****This just ticked Severa off. A feeling of sympathy boiled in her belly just thinking about their obvious mistreatment. She could tell the two were so sweet and they had gotten dealt a bad hand. It sucked.

Severa grasped the handle and pushed the door opened. “Yo dudes, I’m back. You alright?” Severa kicked the door closed with her foot after stepping further inside making her way to the couch where she last left the duo. She found the fort abandoned and in disarray, but the television was still going.  
  
She clicked her tongue and glanced over to the kitchen seeing nothing out of place at first glance. She did a quick skim anyway and didn’t find anything. She looked around at the opened area of the kitchen and living room seeing no clear sign of the duo. What the hell? Did they go into her room or study then?  
  
The answer was her study as she heard shuffling as she got closer to the set of three doors. She noticed the door was opened a bit. It was enough that the bitties could slip inside and her be none the wiser… if they’d kept the noise down. She was the only one in here after all. She pushed the door opened more, but kept quiet wanting to see what the two were up to.  
  
Or she would’ve if she hadn’t slammed the door wide opened and shouted. “Prince! Get the hell away from them!” The bitties were cornered by the animal in the furthest corner of the room between two bookcases. From her height, she could clearly see the two pressing themselves into the walls’ corner as the ferret stared down at them in an upright position.  
  
**_Like a predator eyeing its prey_ ** **.**  
  
Severa _knew_ what was happening and her call startled the ferret as he ran off toward her ottoman where the opened vent laid. “Dammit! Prince, don’t go into that ve-” Fuck. Severa groaned, but quickly turned her attention to the still cornered bitties. The skeletons were shaking so hard. Severa could hear their bones rattling- heh. Wait, no puns. It wasn’t pun time.  
  
Severa knelt down near them, but not too close. She didn’t wish to push them into an sort of panic- well anymore than they already were. “Hey…” she started softly.  
  
“S-Severa...?”  
  
Severa smiled softly at the low voice of the pappy. “Yes, it’s me.” She dare not inch forward, but she does bring her hand close to the duo. “I’m right here. I’m right here near you.” The silence is heavy, tense, and slowly engulfed the study, but Severa stayed still. She needed to help them, but they needed to make the first move toward her. So she waited.  
  
And waited and waited. It was a bit of just Severa keeping her hand out toward them, soft reassurances and requests of slow breathes. _Calm down. Deep breathes. Inhale 1.. 2.. 3.. then exhale 4.. 5.. 6.._ Various things that Severa could think of to help them from her position. Sadly, barely anything seemed to work on the two bitties. In their defensive, they probably thought they just barely survived from becoming a ferret’s breakfast.  
  
There had to be a more effective method to calm them down. What was something she hadn’t tried yet? Oh, perhaps…?  
  
“ _I remember tears streaming down your face_ _  
_ _When I said, "I'll never let you go"_ _  
_ _When all those shadows almost killed your light_ _  
_ _I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"_ _  
_ _But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_ _  
_ _  
_ _Just close your eyes_ _  
_ _The sun is going down_ _  
_ _You'll be all right_ _  
_ _No one can hurt you now_ _  
_ _Come morning light_ _  
_ _You and I'll be safe and sound…_ ”  
  
Severa sang softly to the shivering duo. The baby blue mentioned he liked her voice. Singing always helped her baby sister, Lucia, calm down when the child started her waterworks. Severa hoped it would have a similar effect on the bitties before her.  
  
“ _Don't you dare look out your window_ _  
_ _Darling, everything's on fire_ _  
_ _The war outside our door keeps raging on_ _  
_ _Hold on to this lullaby_ _  
_ _Even when the music's gone, gone_ _  
_ _  
_ _Just close your eyes_ _  
_ _The sun is going down_ _  
_ _You'll be all right_ _  
_ _No one can hurt you now_ _  
_ _Come morning light_ _  
_ _You and I'll be safe and sound_ _  
_ _  
_ _Ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh_ _  
_ _Ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh..._ ”  
  
Severa continued on singing to the skeletons and it caught their attention after a few more lines. She watched their shivers slow, heard the rattles grow weaker, and felt hope form in her chest.  
  
“ _Just close your eyes_ _  
_ _You'll be all right_ _  
_ _Come morning light_ _  
_ _You and I'll be safe and sound_ _  
_ _  
_ _Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh..._ ”  
  
Finally the song came to an end and what happened next she hadn’t expected. The two small skeletons rushed toward her and quickly buried themselves in her lap, pushing against her stomach. She felt the tips of their phalanges digging in through her shirt and they _wailed_ her name. Severa was again at a loss at what to do, so she did what she does with her sister. She covered the two with her palm that was stretched toward them before and softly reassured them, waiting for their tears to dry.  
  
After they managed to calm down a second time, Severa brought them back to the plush fort. The baby blue and pappy made their way back in as Severa sat down in one of the chairs on either side of the couch. She refused to leave the duo after what just occurred. Prince could come back and she wasn’t gonna allow the animal to corner them again. Thinking about it let the guilt and worry chew at her mind. Why had she left the bitties when she **knew** Prince was running amuck around the complex? She never left Chester on his own when the ferret was out when he was still alive! How could she forget such a thing?! They could’ve been hurt or even worse-.. And right after moments she was telling herself about how she wanted to help them.  
  
“HUMAN. WE’D LIKE TO APOLOGISE.”  
  
Severa snapped her head to the voice. She was so occupied with her thoughts she failed to notice the pappy had approached her. He was shaking, but enduring it to put up a brave front and she could see the baby blue peering out over the lip of the blanket fort. She gazed back at the tall bitty. “Excuse me?”  
  
“WE-” He motioned to the baby blue. “WE WISHED TO APOLOGISE FOR EAR-”  
  
“Oookay. I’m gonna stop you right there.” Severa interrupted the bitty. He grew a look of confusion and… concern? “There is absolutely no reason for you to be apologising to me. If anyone should be apologising, it is I.”  
  
“WHY? WE CAUSED YOU PROBLEMS.” The baby blue threw out from his position. Severa glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.  
  
“What the hell are you talking about? I was aware Prince escaped and knew of his mischievous tendencies. Ferrets are potentially dangerous to small creatures such as bitties. Something else I was aware of.” Severa sighed and laid her head against the top of the chair. “You two could’ve been… I am sorry. I am so sorry.”  
  
The bitties were quiet and Severa noticed they were squirming in place again. “We’ve had our ferret share of problems today-”  
  
“SEVERA THAT WAS HORRIBLE.”  
  
Severa cracked a grin. “I know.”

 “THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT?” The Pappy huffed with his arms crossed.

 “Timing is important, but I gotta have Joyce talk to Ms. Adams again about Prince. Something has to be dealt with with that animal.” Severa sighed heavily, but putting the duty on the back burning. There was something more important to address. Severa looked toward the bitties, seeing they were eyeing her with curious expressions. “... We need to finish the chat from earlier.”

 The duo visible stiffened and Severa could hear their bones rattle, but they both nodded to Severa. “ALL RIGHT, HUMAN. WE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT.”

 “Smart cookies. So from what I gathered from you guys is that you are…” Severa watched the pappy fiddle with the edge of his scarf and the baby blue keeps his eyelights trained on her. “... alone.” From their surprised expressions, Severa suspects that wasn’t the answer they were expecting. She continued on, “Now, if I am wrong, I don’t care, because I refused to let you go back there. You two are not in the best condition and need some proper care first and foremost. So I think I have an idea, but I want you two to be okay with it.”

 The duo nodded at Severa’s words and the pappy asked her what her idea was. Severa smiled warmly at him and his cheekbones erupted in color. “How about you stay here for the time being?”

Both bitties stare at Severa with a look of pure disbelief and wariness. Severa expected it, so she continued on. “I am not forcing you to stay here, please don’t get me wrong. It is an open option for you two. If you do not wish to then I will work with you two to figure out what to do next.”

 “SEVERA, MAY I ASK A QUESTION?” The baby blue spoke out.

 “You just did.”

 “VERY FUNNY, MISS JOKESTER.”

 Severa nodded, grinning.

 “TO PUT IT BLUNTLY, WHY ARE YOU BEING SO NICE TO US?”

 Severa’s grin fell. “Nice? I am not being nice to you. I am treating you like people. Like the intelligent individuals you are. You should have some sort of say in what happens to you after all. It is only right.” Severa’s explanation seems to have perplexed the bitties. She sighed internally with more worry eating away at her. They were different than normal monsters, sure, but they still had thoughts and feelings of their own. That was something Severa wanted to respect. This was just turning out to be harder than she first thought.

“WE GET TO DECIDE?” The Baby Blue reaffirmed with a hint of awe. Severa noticed he moved himself from the fort to stand next to the Pappy. She could see the height difference between the two and it wasn’t as different as she once thought. The baby blue was about 4 inches, but the pappy had to push past 5.

“Yes.”

 The pair locked eyes with one another, having a silent conversation with a tense atmosphere.

 “Oh and you have the entire day to figure it out, boys. I’m gonna be on ferret watch for the day since he knows you two are here.”

They don’t seem to like the final statement from the shutter they have. The baby blue seemed to recover first then clarified with Severa. “... WE HAVE MORE TIME?”

 Severa nodded and the bitties’ shoulders fell to a more relaxed posture. “Oh, by the way…” Severa tilted her head at the bitties. “What are your names?”

 The bitties gave her confused looks.

 “Or at least something you go by?“ Severa rephrased.

 They didn’t answer for a bit, but when they did they couldn’t give Severa a clear answer. She brushed it off and went a different route then.

 “We could go by your bitty types then as I have no talent in this and you won’t tell me your actual names. I can’t just keep calling you ‘dudes’ after all. What do you think about BB and Pap?”  
  
“FOR WHAT?”  
  
“For what I should refer to you as for now.”  
  
“WHY THOSE?”  
  
“They are based off your bitty types.” Severa explained then gestured at the baby blue. “You would be ‘BB’ because well- Baby Blue equals BB. … Don’t give me that look, I told you before I suck at these things.” Severa told BB then turned to the pappy. “And you will be Pap. Does that work for you two dudes?”  
  
“YES!!” Well that was loud. Happy, but loud. Severa smile softly at Pap, but noticed the other bitty didn’t seem very happy.

 “What about Blue instead?” Severa offered to the blue bitty.

 The bitty thought on it then a grin spread over his features and he nodded. “THAT IS ACCEPTABLE, HUMAN!”

 Severa laughed at his antics then turned to look over to a pair of glass doors leading out to her small balcony. Because of this, she failed to notice the shared hopeful looks of the small bitties nearby.

 

  1. **They possibly had names, but refused to say what they were.**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	3. The Day is Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bitties have to make a decision and maybe scold some humans about their use of colorful language in the meantime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty late. I've been trying to get it out for several days now, but what can ya do when life hits. I also am not happy with this chapter at all, but its done. Again. I don't know what else to put here. It's like 1 am...I should be asleep.

 

 

> **[Severa]** Prince was in my apartment. Left from my study’s vent
> 
> **[August]** FUUUU-
> 
> **[August]** Fuk the fur rat
> 
> **[Severa]** Don’t you mean fer-rat?
> 
> **[August]** DONT
> 
> **[Severa]** </3

Severa giggled to herself as she hit send on her phone. August liked her puns, she knew, but not at his expense or any related to Prince during one of the ferret’s escapades. That was also the precise time to give them out, though. She glanced up from her phone to catch a peek at the barrier fort on her couch. A bit after the talk she had with the bitties, Severa fixed the fort and gave them the tv remote again. That’s when the questions came about the remote, tv, and the shows or commercials that came on when they were investigating it earlier. Severa gave them vague answers. The boys weren’t happy with that and it made Severa amused. So began the quest to solve the mystery of “noise box” and its “controller”.

The duo were pressing buttons and seeing what it did to the tv currently. They were taking turns choosing buttons and when it was one’s turn, the other would watch the tv to see what would happen. There were several times Severa had to restore settings or remove the swap channel menu when they were playing with it, but she didn’t mind. It was welcoming to watch such open curiosity.

“Haven’t you guys done everything you can with that thing already?” Severa shot the question toward the bitties.

Blue was the one who answered her. “WE WISH TO BE THOROUGH. THAT MEANS REPEATING STEPS IF NECESSARY.” Pap made a ‘nyeh’ noise in confirmation.

Severa figured out that Pap was the ‘nyeh’ one. She briefly wondered if Blue said something similar, but her train of thought went to breakfast when her stomach growled. She saw the bitties still playing with the remote, so it seemed they didn’t hear her stomach and she sighed silently in relief. They would still tense at sudden sounds, so her stomach going off would have spooked them. While Severa didn’t blame them for their jumpy-ness, it got tiresome for her to deal with the aftermath or be on alert for any small sound. She hadn't slept that long after all, so her attention was not at full capacity.

“I'm gonna make breakfast you two. So there's about to be some noise.” Severa announced to the skeletons as she pushed herself from the chair and made her way to kitchen.

“OKAY.” Pap’s voice sounded out from behind Severa.

After Severa made the short walk to the kitchen, she opened the fridge looking through the food she could make. There wasn't much of a choice breakfast wise, but it wasn't surprising when Severa rarely ever made breakfast for herself. That only consisted of leftovers from the previous night, some quick snack, or some fast food on her way to work or school. She didn't want to leave them alone to go get anything and/or take them anywhere, so she had to find something to eat at her apartment. Severa clicked her tongue in thought, but then froze. _Shit_.

“WHAT WAS THAT?”

“What was what, Blue?”

“THAT CLICKING SOUND, HUMAN.”

Severa relaxed with a heavy sigh. She hadn’t startle them, good. She caught sight of the oreos she left out and grabbed them, contemplating before shoving them back in her cabinet. Oreos were not breakfast food… at least today. She threw her focus to Blue now. “That was my tongue.” Severa demonstrated the action.

Blue drew closer to the edge of the fort’s wall, looking at Severa. Pap was on his heels and stopped next to him, the remote forgotten. “SO YOU MADE THOSE SOUNDS EARLIER?”

“Yep.” Severa opened one of the cabinets looking for something. “Hey, did you two like any of those fruits from earlier?”

“I LIKED THE SQUISHY ROUND ONES.” Blue responded.

“THE TRIANGLE RED ONES WERE TASTEFUL, HUMAN SEVERA!” Pap answered the question as Severa returned to the fridge and opened it searching around. She pulled out a single container full of blueberries and showed it to the bitties.

“These?”

“YES!” Blue’s eyelights turned to stars momentarily before fading away at Severa’s sly smile. “WHY ARE YOU GRINNING, HUMAN?”

“These are called _blueberries_ .” Severa giggled as Blue ducked behind the blanket wall, but before she caught the sight of a certain colored blush growing on the poor bitty’s skull. She looked toward Pap, putting the blueberries on the counter. “I believe you liked the strawberries, Pap, but unfortunately, those are gone. I’m sorry. Can you do with _blueberries_?” Severa asked, putting emphasis on the final word.

A rather load ‘MWEH’ echoed. Well, guess Blue did say something similar to Pap - one did ‘NYEH’ and the other did ‘MWEH’. Severa laughed at the discovery thinking it just added onto the bitties’ adorable meter.

“THAT IS FINE, HUMAN SEVERA.”

Severa smiled at the bitty in response and turned away to reach back into the opened cabinet. She pulled out a sealed pack of brown sugar and premade muffin mix. “So I’m thinking brown sugar blueberry muffins. That sound good to you two?” Severa turned to the boys (Blue had reappeared) after getting no reply and noticed a shared look of confusion on their faces. “Now what are you confused by?”

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THAT?” Pap questioned, pointing to the ingredients in Severa’s grasp.

“... Make the muffins?” Severa hesitantly replied. She didn’t understand the question, honestly. What did Pap mean? “Have you never seen someone cook before?”

Blue shook his head. “FOR MEAL TIMES WE NORMALLY HAD BOWLS OF… WHAT DID HE CALL IT?”

“I DON’T RECALL.”

“EITHER WAY, THEY WERE ALWAYS THE SAME. IT NEVER NEEDED ANYTHING LIKE THE THINGS YOU HAVE, HUMAN.”

Severa blinked several times, letting Blue’s words sink in. They… had the same thing? Everyday? “...Mind me asking what your ‘meal time’ food looked like?”

“THEY WERE WHITE AND SMALL.” Blue answered.

“How did they taste?”

“HARD.” Pap huffed.

“GROSS.” Blue spat out.

“Hard and gross, huh?” Severa giggled putting the sugar and mix on the counter, moving to grab the other necessary cooking utensils from other various places in her small kitchen. “These should be soft and tasteful, so the opposite of your normal meals.” Severa returned to the counter spot with a mixing bowl, a six-cup muffin pan, and spatula. She set them on the counter as well next to the other ingredients then moved to the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs, her half gallon of milk and her sticks of butter (after searching for it. When did the fridge get kind of messy?) and kicked the door shut. She had all the necessities and tossed a glance to the boys. She noticed they were even closer than before, almost on the arm on the couch. She chose not to comment on it.

Severa grabbed the ingredients and began making the batter for the muffins. She realized she forgot the measuring cup, so she quickly scavenged around for it and just resumed the process. With skilled hands, she was soon dumping the freshly made batter into the muffin tray after placing the paper liners in the cups. She reached over to grab the brown sugar when she paused. The duo were awfully quiet. Severa glanced over to the couch and her eyes widened. The bitties were _gone_ . What the hell? Where did they go? _When_ did they move?! There were no sounds! When the hell di-

“IS SHE ALRIGHT?”

“I AM NOT SURE.”

‘“SHE SUDDENLY STOPPED. SHOULD WE…”

“PERHAPS…”

“LET US… UM…”

Severa spun around to see Pap and Blue on the table near her tote bag. The duo jumped at the unexpected action. Severa stared intently at the pair and mentally cursed herself. _Shit._ She just spooked them.

Severa forced herself to relax and took a deep breathe before smiling gently to the bitties. “I’m fine. Thank you for worrying though.” She grabbed the brown sugar as she turned back and proceeded to sprinkle the sugar over each muffin. Now they were headed to her oven that she needed to turn on. She turned the dial up and placed the muffin pan in the middle rack before closing it. She turned and leaned against the counter, giving her attention to the bitties… that were laying in her bag?

“Do you guys like my bag or something?”

“WHY DO YOU ASK?”

“You are in it.”

The bitties looked at one another and Blue looked down at the bag in question. Pap was the one who spoke. “IS THAT A BAD THING?”

“Not really?” Severa shrugged. “I don’t mind or anything if that’s what you’re getting at. I just don’t think my bag is the most comfortable place to lounge around in.”

“TO WHAT?”

“To lay down or relax.” Severa explained then motioned to the fort on her couch. “I’d suspect the fort of blankets and warmth was a lot better than my bag full of random stuff.”

Blue gave Severa a look that she couldn’t place and Pap sunk into the bag more. She just shrugged again and moved on. “I got a question for ya.”

“YES?”

“What type of tree can you carry in your hand?”

Pap and Blue looked at each other and dove into the bag. Severa grinned when she heard them discussing possible answers. It was silent for a bit until Blue emerged from the bag.

“HUMAN, WE HAVE CONCLUDED WE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. WHAT IS THE ANSWER?”

“A palm tree!”

Silence.

“ _HUMAN_!”

For the umpteenth time that day, Severa was shaking with laughter. Oh, the looks of such disapproval were glorious! She calmed herself down and just grinned at the bitties.

“MUST YOU DO THOSE, HUMAN?!” Blue inquired. He huffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms, giving Severa a reprimanding glare.

“Yes.”

“WHY?”

“It’s a part of who I am. Who am I to deny myself?”

“THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT IT IS STILL INFURIATING!” Pap spoke up as he stood up from her tote bag. Blue did the opposite and dove deeper into the bag. Pap and Severa observed Blue’s imprint move around the bag and when the girl shot the bitty a questioning look, Pap just shrugged his shoulders.

Severa turned her attention to the muffins then and grinned. They were rising pretty well. A sense of achievement spread over Severa as she watched through the oven’s window. The young woman loved baking, so when it went well she felt overcome with joy. She wanted to go brag to her parents about it (which she’ll probably do later) since they did it for a living. It was a way to show them their teachings weren’t wasted on her.

“YOU SEEM HAPPY.”

Severa looked over to Pap and smiled warmly. “I am!”

“WHY?”

“I always get happy when I’m baking- what I’m doing right now.”

“BUT YOU ARE JUST WATCHING THE STRANGE BOX?”

“It’s called an oven, Pap, and yes, I am, but it is part of the baking process.”

“SO WHAT IS EXACTLY HAPPENING?”

“Good question. The dough is rising and cooking through from the heat the oven is giving off. Oh, by the way, it is dangerous so please stay away from the oven.” Severa warned the bitty then looked over to her bag where the other bitty still was. “That goes for you too, Blue.”

“UNDERSTOOD!” Blue called from the bag. He still wasn’t exiting it for some reason which Severa grew confused about.

“What are you doing in there, Blue?”

“EXPLORING!”

“My bag isn’t some unexplored territory. What the hell, dude?”

“YES IT IS!” Blue argued. “WE DID NOT HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE TO EXPLORE IT WHEN WE WERE IN HERE. WE NEEDED TO STAY FOCUSED AFTER ALL.”

“...” Severa fell quiet. She questioned herself if she should try to pry, but… “It is just filled with random shit I need for work or school. If you really wanna know that bad how about I just dump it all out?” Severa offered to the bitty in her bag.

“NO, THANK YOU, HUMAN.” Blue declined and then continued his exploration(?). It just confused Severa, but there wasn’t anything dangerous in there, so she wasn’t going to stop the little adventurer. It was amusing since it reminded Severa similarly of SNAKE, the retro mobile game. He was moving around in her bag and the more she watched, the harder it was to hold in her laughter. Huh, she was laughing a lot today. She blamed her lack of sleeping being one of the contributing factors along with the two miniature monsters in her apartment.

Now, back to the muffins. Severa opened a drawer and pulled out a toothpick and an oven mitt. She bumped the drawer close with her hip while shoving the mitten on her hand. She was aware of Pap observing her every action with interest, but kept up with her actions. She retrieved the muffins from the oven and stuck the toothpick in the baked good. When it came out clean, she grinned triumphantly and reached to turn off the oven after setting the tray on the stove top.

“DO WE GET TO EAT NOW?”

Severa looked to Pap and shook her head. “Not yet-”

“YOU SAID WE GET-”

“We have to let them cool first, impatient pants. I know you’re hungry. I’m always hungry, so like I’d keep away from food like that and let anyone else as well.” Severa laughed good naturedly while reaching up to one of her cabinets and pulled out two plates. She set them next to the tray and patted her pockets. “Where did I…” She mumbled to herself then moved around the kitchen a bit giving it a quick look through. She scratched her head in confusion. Didn’t she bring her phone in with her?

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, HUMAN SEVERA?”

“Do either of you remember the small rectangular box I was holding earlier?”

IF YOU ARE SPEAKING ABOUT THE BLUE OBJECT THEN YOU LEFT IT WHERE YOU WERE SEATED BEFORE.” Blue’s voice rang out and Severa looked up to see he had emerged from her bag.

“Ah-,” Severa looked toward the chair and didn’t see it on the arms. She walked into the living area and noticed her phone wedged in the cushions. She pulled it out and grinned at the bitties. “Nice, thanks. It would’ve taken me a bit to find it.” Severa had one of the newest releases of smartphones available on the market. She had a durable blue case for it since she was prone to dropping it from time to time. It wasn’t usual for her to have a cracked screen in the first month of her possessing the electronic.

“YOU ARE WELCOME, HUMAN SEVERA.” Pap responded happily.

“IT HASN’T BEEN THAT LONG, HUMAN… DO YOU OFTEN FORGET WHERE YOU PUT YOUR… ("Phone.") PHONE?” Blue inquired toward Severa as she made her way back to the kitchen.

“Oh, all the time. My memory can be sporadic at times.” Severa explained and caught the confused looks of the bitties. “... Spotty?”

“YOU FORGET THINGS EASILY?”

“More like I space on things easily.”

Blue made a noise and Pap pointed to the muffins. “ARE THE MUFFINS ‘COOLED OFF’ ENOUGH?”

“They should be.” Severa grabbed one of the muffins and sure enough, it was had cooled and set it on a plate. “Do you guys mind sharing one? They are rather big.”

“THAT IS FINE.” Blue responded with his fellow bitty agreeing enthusiastically. They watched Severa sit the plate down in front of them and the treat was cut in half. She was right. Compared to the bitties, the muffin was rather big.

Severa observed the bitties with their meal. She expected them to need reassurance from her again like earlier in the morning, but if anything they were just inspecting the pastry. Blue was poking it and grasping for a blueberry the next second (She swore he made a conflicted face when he grabbed the berry too.) while Pap was trying to figure out how to eat the muffin. It was definitely interesting to Severa and while she wanted to continuing watching them, she had calls to make. She walked away from them and pulled herself up onto the counter top while pressing buttons on her phone. First up was...

“ _What can I do for you, Severa?_ ” A familiar feminine voice answered the phone.

“Hey, Joyce. You _really_ need to talk to Ms. Adams about Prince.”

“ _I was wondering if you were going to call about that. August told me just a bit ago that you texted him about Prince being in your apartment._ ” Severa heard tapping through the phone. Was Joyce on the lobby computer?

“Yeah. That’s a problem because he went after the bitties.” Severa swung her legs from side to side. She looked upwards to the ceiling ignoring the kitchen lights’ glare. She should turn those off soon.

The other line was silent for several seconds before Joyce asked. “ _Are they alright?_ ”

“They are extremely jumpy and nervous… more so than before, but other than that I think they are fine. They are eating some _blueberry_ (“MWEH!”) muffins at the moment.”

“ _I see. By the way… are you teasing them?_ ”

“Maybe.”

“ _Severa._ ” Joyce laughed softly.

“Don’t take away my pastime.”

“ _You need to get a new hobby, child._ ” The typing resumed. “ _I’ll talk with Ms. Adams later today about Prince. What are you going to do about it ‘till then?_ ”

“Simple. I’m gonna ferret proof my damn apartment.”

“ _It’s been nearly two years since you last did that. Do you still have all the things?_ ”

“Yeah.”

“ _Really? I thought you’ve gotten rid of it all by now._ ”

“I kept forgetting.”

“ _Uh-huh._ ” Joyce’s voice oozed with disbelief. “ _I’ll let you go then. Call me if you need anything, Severa or you can just get August to do it._ ”

“Another favorite pastime of mine.”

“ _That one I’m fine with._ ”

Severa laughed as the line went dead. She removed the phone from her ear and glanced up to the bitties seeing them staring at her. They were covered in the aftermath of their meal. “Pfft. Do you guys want more by any chance?”

The duo nodded eagerly. Blue’s eye lights were cerulean stars again which were still adorable to Severa and Pap seemed to be just vibrating in his spot. God, could these guys get any cuter? Probably. She grabbed another one, cut it in half and put it on the plate for the bitties. She hopped back onto the countertop while grabbing a muffin for herself and pressing buttons on her phone. She put it to her ear while taking a bite of the muffin.

A click and a gruff voice came over the phone. “ _Your sister is getting on my last nerve._ ”

“Good. Better you than I, dad.”

“ _What the fuck?_ ”

“You be the sacrifice.”

“ _That is your job!_ ” Severa’s dad retorted through the phone.

“Give the phone to mom, so I can snitch that you’re being mean to me.” Severa started to swing her legs once again.

“ _Now why the fuck would I do that?_ ”

“Because mom’s got the power.”

“ _The what?_ ”

“Shut up and give mom the phone, old man.”

“ _Fine, brat._ ” He finally relented.

“Thank you~” Severa sang into the phone and she heard movement and suddenly her dad was telling Lucia to start moving to get ready for school causing Severa to snicker. Her baby sister groaned in response then got interested in the phone. Severa took another bite from the muffin in her hand and turned it around, examining it. Yeah, theses turned out pretty good.

“ _It’s your sister._ ” Severa heard her dad say out loud. That caused Lucia to start shouting about wanting to talk to her and Severa knew she needs to step in.

“Hey, dad. Tell Luce that if she finishes getting ready before I’m finished talking to mom then I’ll talk to her.”

“ _I think she heard you. She just sped off._ ” Severa heard her dad over the line and she grinned to herself and took another bite. Muffin crumbs slipped into her lap, but she didn’t care. Her dad was moving again soon.

“ _Emery, the first born wants to talk to you._ ”

“ _Sevy!_ ” Severa’s mom nearly screamed and a noise that Severa guessed was her mom taking the phone from her dad. “ _What’s up, hun?_ ”

Severa felt a wide smile spread over her face. “Mom! Do you think you’ll need my help today at any point?”

Emery made a noise and she called over to her husband. “ _Abel, do we have any orders that need to go out today?_ ”

“ _None are listed, dearest._ ” Abel answered from a distance.

“ _Then nope~ Why? It’s not like you have work today, hun. Do you not wanna come see your family?_ ” Emery playfully accused her daughter who just laughed in response.

“Nah, nothing like that. I just have…” Severa looked at the bitties in silence. “.. a little _bitty_ problem.” Severa finished quietly, so the bitties wouldn’t hear her. She bit her lip when she noticed the duo twitched a bit after her pun. When the pair looked at her, she quickly looked away.

“ _Mmm~ I see. A bitty problem, gotcha. Well good luck with i-_ (“ _Lemme talk to her!_ ”) _Lucia, I’m not done._ (“ _Boo!_ ”) _Anyway, is that all you wanna to tell me?_ ”

“I made your muffin recipe with blueberries. They turned out pretty well, but still no match for your’s of course.” Severa announced to her mom while finishing off the muffin in her hand.

“ _Hehe. You’ll get to my level at some point, hun. It just takes practice._ ” Severa’s grin didn’t falter and she nodded, agreeing even if she knew her mom couldn’t see it. “ _I’ll see you later then, hun. Stop by later this week if you can then- Here’s your sister._ ”

“ _SISSY!_ ” Severa dragged the phone away from her ear just in time to have her sister’s voice screech over the receiver. “ _I got dressed, so I get to talk to you!_ ”

“Yeah, that’s how it normally works, sis.” Severa’s smile softened and she closed her eyes relaxing her posture. “Why’d you want to talk to me so bad?”

“ _I have a question!_ ”

“Shoot.”

“ _The boy I sit next to named Dexter was going on and on about how cool sharks are. He kept saying how they are the king of the oceans and they keep eating humans because they are trying to keep us out of the oceans._ ”

“I agree, sharks are cool and all, but there are other candidates for the title of ‘King of the Ocean’. .” Severa answered her sister with ease. “Sharks are acting like animals and only the Bull, Tiger and Great Whites are known to attack humans. Most of said attacks ended in injuries, non-fatal.”

Lucia made a noise of acknowledgement before asking her sister about sharks further.

“You have a higher chance of being struck by lightning than be attacked by a shark, Lucia. The biggest shark is the Whale Shark and their diet consists of-”

“ _Whales?_ ”

“No, plankton and other small organisms. They have the similar diet as whales actually. Sharks are definitely cool though.”

Lucia giggled through the phone. “ _Yep!_ ”

“So you gonna go gloat about your new knowledge to this Dexter boy?”

“ _Yep! Thanks, sissy! Love you!_ ”

“Glad to be of service. Give the phone back to mom and have a good day at summer school. Love ya, too.” Severa told her sister.

“ _Bleh!_ ”

Movement is heard and her mother’s voice returns to the phone. “ _Did you really just tell your little sister about deadly marine predators?_ ”

“You say like it’s a bad thing.”

“ _... Touche. Talk to you later, Sevy. I love you._ ”

“Love you too, mom.” Severa hung up and looked up at the bitties and saw their wide expressions. “What is it?”

“...IT IS NOTHING.” Pap eventually replied looking away. Blue simply looked down with a complicated expression.

“... Alright then.” Severa chose not to pry although it was obviously not _nothing_. She put her phone in her pocket after getting off the counter. She looked to the bitties. “Did you guys get your fill or do you want more?”

Blue shook his head with a grin. “I AM FULL, THANK YOU HUMAN.”

Pap seemed just as happy. “YES, IT WAS VERY GOOD. YOU WERE RIGHT! IT WAS BETTER THAN OUR USUAL MEALS!”

“PERHAPS IT COULD BECOME OUR NORMAL MEAL FROM NOW ON?” Blue spoke out which caused Severa to laugh.

“I am not making muffins every day. That would be boring, gotta mix things!”

“OH! THAT IS WHAT YOU MEANT!” Blue said surprised.

Severa stopped laughing abruptly then stared at them in concern for a second. She decided to turn the conversation. “How about a bath for you two?” She moved and grabbed a glass bowl from her lower cabinets. She filled it with water from the sink and placed it in the microwave above the stove for a few minutes to heat it. She moved around the place while it was heating up and returned the supplies she took out back where they belonged. She ignored the chaos of her fridge. The microwave went off, but Severa grabbed the leftover plates and put them in the sink with all the other dirty dishes. She ran to the bathroom with the bitties watching her from behind and she returned with two washcloths and set them on the table near the bitties. “Use those to wipe yourself, okay? It's not the best thing for you, but it's what I can do for now. It’ll help you feel better too.”

The bitties nodded with each taking ones of the fabrics Severa left then she set the glass bowl on the table. She instructed them on what they should do, but asked them to hold off for a bit while she went to go find some spare clothes for them. They watched her scurry away to her bedroom.

Severa entered her bedroom heading to her dresser that’s in view from the door. If she remembered correctly, the spare outfits she has for the firefly should be in her dresser and _not_ the closet. She opened various drawers trying to locate the small box they would be in. She ended up finding it _under_ the dresser for some strange reason. Perhaps Lucia put it under there as a joke when she last was over? Severa shrugged it off and returned to the skeletons with the box.

“Hey, guys I fou-” Severa was cut off by the sight before her. The bitties were _somehow_ tangled in their old clothes (although with all the holes in their rags, she shouldn’t be surprised) and were in obvious distress from the situation.

“HUMAN SEVERA, SOME ASSISTANCE WOULD BE APPRECIATED.” Pap called to Severa pulling at some of the loose strings around his upper arm. Blue wasn’t well off either, but he seemed to be more irritated by the situation than distressed.

Severa stood still, staring at the sight before a wide grin spread over her features and she slapped a hand over her mouth to try to contain her laughter.

“HUMAN, I UNDERSTAND YOU FIND THIS AND MANY OTHER THINGS FUNNY, BUT COULD YOU ASSIST US BEFORE YOU START YOUR LAUGHTER?” Blue requested while trying to remove his shirt, but it was getting caught within his rib-cage.

Severa took several deep breaths trying to calm herself down. Once she succeeded, she stepped closer to Blue and Pap to get a better look at the predicament. Their clothes had holes in them, small ones that Severa hadn’t noticed before and it seemed their bones had gotten stuck in said holes somehow. It caused tearing of the seams when the bittes probably tried to get out of it. “...How did you guys get so… tangled in them?” Severa asked either bitty while pulling at various parts of Blue’s shirt.

“WE NEVER HAD TO DO THIS BEFORE!” Pap answered.

“Do what?”

“REMOVE OUR CLOTHES!”

Severa stopped her inspection instantly. She looked straight at Pap and Blue with a hard stare, one that made the duo began to squirm in place, and said slowly. “I’m going to go get a pair of scissors. These sorry excuse for clothes need to be cut off. I have spares for you two to use afterwards.” Severa broke her stare and set the box on the table, then popped off the lid. The inside was filled with shirts of various colors and designs, dark colored pants and black socks. “They’ll fit Pap the best because you are closer to the firefly’s height than Blue is. Sorry for that, Blue.”

“THE FIREFLY? WHO IS THIS ‘THE FIREFLY’ AND WHY DO YOU HAVE CLOTHES FOR THEM?” Pap asked while peering into the box. Blue did the same, but seemed just as curious for answer as Pap was by his eyelights continuously shifting between the clothes and Severa.

“The firefly is-” Severa began, looking through the drawers of her kitchen. There should be a pair of scissors in there… somewhere. She loses things often enough and the fact she just throws things into random drawers from time to time is more than likely a contributing factor.

“Why is there glitter all over this drawer?!” Severa exclaimed, finally managing to find the scissors, but the drawer was covered in glitter. She grasped the instrument’s metal end in her palm and walked to the sink to rinse off the sparkles as best she could. “It seems Lucia played some games while she was here last…” Severa mumbled to herself as she shut off the water. She shook her hand trying to get the excess water off while reaching for the rag behind the faucet. She turned back to the bitties and sighed seeing the scissors sparkling in the light. “God dammit.”

“LANGUAGE!” .

Severa gaped at Blue until she sputtered out. “W...what?”

“WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, SEVERA!” Blue berated Severa with his arms crossed over his ribs.

“... I cannot do that.” Severa walked closer to the baby blue and sat down in one of the chairs at the table. She waved Blue over to her. “Come here, please. I need to cut the fabric.” The bitty did as requested, but still seemed to be keen on keeping up the current conversation.

“WHY NOT?”

Severa began to cut the fabric of Blue’s shirt to untangle the bitty. “Why not have a wide _and_ colorful vocabulary?”

“THAT IS NOT FUNNY!”

“Tough crowd.” Severa grinned at the bitty and then finished the shirt off and moved onto Pap. She did the same as she did to Blue. They were fine pants-wise, so they shouldn’t have any problems there. Hopefully. She noticed the blue bandana and red scarf belonging to the bitties were placed to the side, neatly folded. She grabbed the remainders of the skeletons’ shirts and set them to the side and turned her attention to the bowl. The water was lukewarm, so it was the best temperature for the bitties. “There ya go, boys. Now I’ll leave you to it and… I’m gonna go ferret proof my apartment.”

Severa did just that. She retreated into her study and began to take precautions to keep Prince out of her apartment. She covered the opened vent in her study that was still there from the building’s original air system. Severa would have to repeat it in her bedroom and wherever it was in her main living area, but she knew that she could do those later. Those lines were closed off during the remodeling of the building years ago, so she really didn’t have to worry about them, but better safe than sorry. She also decided to finish cleaning out the room she began last night.

After some time passed, she returned to the kitchen area to check on the bitties. The duo were looking through her fish encyclopedia dressed in some of the clothes from the box along with their signature neckwear she has easily come to associate with them. It might’ve only been a few hours since she met the duo, but she could admit it was strange to not see either bitty without the fabric around their necks. “Heya.” she announced her appearance.

“HELLO HUMAN!” Blue greeted Severa.

“You swap between ‘human’ and ‘Severa’, Blue.”  

“THAT IS BECAUSE I CALL YOU ‘HUMAN SEVERA’! WE THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE CONFUSED IF WE WERE BOTH TO CALL YOU BY THAT, HUMAN SEVERA!” Pap elaborated on Severa’s statement. She wasn’t asking a question, but got an explanation anyway.

Blue nodded in agreement.

“Ah, is that so? Thank you then.” Severa smiled warmly at them then drew attention to the book. “So why are you looking at my fish encyclopedia?”

“IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?” Pap asked inquisitively leaning in toward the opened pages of the book; large images of various types of sharks are visible. Severa rolled her eyes at the absurdity, but the smile gracing her lips conveyed her mirth of the situation.

“Yes, although to be more specific, the creatures on the page are sharks.”

“WHAT ARE ‘SHARKS’?” Blue cocked his head to the side looking at Severa with curiosity.

A smile with ample enthusiasm exploded over Severa’s expression and she let out a rather inhumane sound which startled the bitties. “Sharks are large, usually gray, saltwater fish that have sharp teeth and a skeleton of cartilage.” Severa pointed to one image on the page. “This type of shark is known as the “Great White” is one of the most infamous known shark species mostly from the well-known horror movie ‘Jaws’.” The young woman began to go off on a tangent of the shark species oblivious to the growing confusion on the small skeletons’ faces. It wasn’t until she looked away from the book then toward the bitties that she halted; laughed out loud. “I just confused you further, didn’t I?”

“YES.” Pap responded with ease and it just made Severa laughed again. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“I’m just peachy, Pap.” Severa giggled. “I intend to ramble about things I love. It so happens to be marine biology is one of those things.”

“OH! ARE THESE ‘SHARKS’ SOMETHING YOU LOVE THEN?”

“Yes! I find them fascinating and cool.”

“YES, YOU MENTIONED THAT WHEN YOU WERE ON… YOUR PHONE EARLIER.” Blue recalled.

“Oh, yes. That’s true. I was telling Luce about them.”

“YOUR SISTER, CORRECT?” Blue asked.

“Yep, my adorable little sister.” Severa felt her face getting warm from happiness. She absolutely adored her little sister even if they got on each other’s nerves from time to time. “But basically, sharks are aquatic or water-based animals that live in the oceans. From the page, you can see there are multiple species of them.”

“SPECIES?”

“Types.”

“OH.”

“Lemme see you two real quick.” Severa motioned for the bitties to come closer to her. She needed to see if they wiped themselves down enough before she cleaned up the makeshift bath. She gave space to the bitties, as she didn’t want them to feel overloaded. They were still in a strange place and even though they seemed calmer, Severa didn’t want to take any chances. She couldn’t have them get scared and run off into the building. Who knows what would happen to them. Prince was still on the loose for one and two… the building wasn’t _exactly_ a safe place for small creatures to be running around. Even with the bitties’ intelligence, they would be in danger. That fact would not change.

Pap and Blue did as they were asked, stepping directly into Severa’s line of sight. While the human was in the other room, Blue and Pap had gotten around to finally getting the bath Severa mentioned. They didn’t grasp what that meant, but could agree it made them feel better after doing as they were instructed. The rags Severa gave them were covered in the grim and dirt from their bones by the end. Their once yellow-ish bones looked much more similar to a pristine state. Plus, it was fun to pick new clothes to wear from the box she left out for them. Severa was also right about the clothes- they fit Pap much better than Blue. The baby blue had to curl up the pant legs just to be able to walk correctly (he tried finding the shortest pair too). The pants were the same on both bitties, a dark color, but each sported a different colored shirt with Pap choosing a simple blue one that held decorative buttons going from the collar to his right shoulder. Blue sported a light orange turtle neck that hid his mandible.

“Oh, you both _definitely_ look better.” Severa commented cheerily while giving a brief nod.

The bitties’ faces lit up in color and humble smiles at Severa’s compliment. Blue sunk his head further into the shirt and Pap did a small shuffle with his gaze directed downward. They were both clearly delighted.

Severa moved to clean the mess on the table. The water had gone ice cold and she noticed it was past lunch time. She did a low whistle not realising time had passed her by when she was cleaning her study. No wonder the bitties were looking at her book, they had to be bored. Severa made quick work of the mess that became of her kitchen. She also stored the leftover muffins in the fridge for later. She really didn’t want to eat the muffins for lunch- that just sounded repetitive. The girl didn’t feel like cooking again, so perhaps ordering online would work? What sounded good? Pizza? Yeah, pizza.

“Hey, wanna try pizza?”

“WHAT IS PIZZA?”

“Yep. I’m ordering pizza.” She needed to correct this wrong. Severa felt personally insulted by the injudicious decision of the bitties’ former caretaker.  As the young lady pulled out her phone, it bellowed an obnoxious ringtone.

“ _Who let the dogs out_  
_Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof_  
_Who let the dogs out_  
_Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof_  
_Who let the dogs out_  
_Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof_ _  
Who let the dogs out..._ ”

Severa answered it.

“ _I caught the furry fucker!_ ”

“LANGUAGE!” Blue chided the new voice.

“ _Who the fuck was that?_ ”

“One of the bitties, August, but you got Prince?”

“ _Fuck yea’._ ”

Severa shook her head at her friend’s charged voice. August seemed to experience a charge of energy whenever he managed to capture the loose ferret. It lasted a short range of time, but he always cursed more in his exchanges and gloated about it for a bit. Those were the basics of his temporary change. “Congrats, loser.”

“ _Fuck you, you are no help!_ ”

“Stop cursing so loud. Blue and Pap are giving me stern looks.”

“ _... The bitties?_ ”

“Yeah.”

“ _You named them?_ ”

“No.”

“ _Oh..,_ ” August trailed off. “ _... Aunt Joyce was telling me that I should bring the shitstain up to show the bitties that it was caught. Somethin’ about a sense of safety?_ ” August explained gruffly.

“That’s not a bad idea. Hmm..” Severa looked to the duo who were looking at more fish in the book. “Prince was caught.”

“WHO?” Pap asked.

“The ferret. The furry one that cornered you in my study.” The bitties visibly stiffened and… they might be shaking if Severa was hearing the rattling correctly.

“O-OH… IS IT ALRIGHT?”

Severa blinked at Pap’s question. He was worried about the animal even after what he did? … For some reason, Severa wasn’t as surprised as she thought she should be. “Yeah, he’s fine. August was told he should bring Prince here, to show you two proof that he was caught. Are you okay with that or…?”

“IT IS NOT NECESSARY, SEVERA! WE WILL BELIEVE YOUR WORD!” Blue’s reply was instant and he hadn’t even looked up from the book. Pap nodded and concurred with Blue instantly.

Severa gazed steadily at the bitties before her. “They’re good, August. Now I’m hanging up.” She ended the call and turned her attention to her contact list. The bitties were still shaken by Prince. Perhaps she should’ve asked after all… Damn. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Severa’s stomach at the thought. She really hoped they would be able to recover from the event. She shouldn’t have left them alone.

Severa touched a contact on her list. It was to one of her usual pizza joints that made awesome pizza. They had great reviews and knew her by name- she ordered from them quite often. She placed an order for a large pepperoni pizza with hot peppers on half of it. She contemplated if she should get something different for the bitties, but since they hadn’t a variety of taste yet she felt like she needed to take baby steps for them and not to overwhelm them. Can’t go wrong with a classic after all… plus she got her hot side.

* * *

 

While they waited for the pizza to arrive, Severa sat at the table with the bitties and spent the time looking through the encyclopedia.

A knock came and Severa got up to answer the door.

“Hey August.”

“‘Sup? You ordered pizza?” August was at the door holding Severa’s pizza. She knew exactly where this was going.

“Yes, wanna join?”

“Fuck yeah.” The young man made his way into the apartment with the pizza box and set it on the table.

“LANGUAGE!”

“English, bitty.” August shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, looking at the bitties who had stood up from their former positions. They looked on guard from August’s sudden presence. August, who in response relaxed his shoulders, is a pretty chilled guy to begin with, so him trying to be more so was odd.

“I MEANT YOU NEED TO WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, HUMAN! WHO ARE YOU?” Blue interrogated the new comer.

“This is August, a friend of mine and he’s harmless.” Severa introduced her friend to the on-guard bitties, hoping they would relax.

“Unless you’re a furry rodent with a tendency of causing havoc around the apartments and getting on my nerves.” August added on.

“Don’t listen to him. He just gets annoyed, but he’s harmless. I swear. He wouldn’t actually harm Prince, just call him names and be a grump.”

“I hate it.”

“I know you hate Prince, August, you corrected me about it earlier this morning.”

“Still relevant.” August grumbled and sat in the chair, shoving the pizza box open. The apartment was soon filled with the smell of melted cheese, pepperoni and what could only be described as “hot”. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me, Sev? Hot peppers?”

Severa claimed the chair next to August after grabbing some more plates and set them on the table. “I needed some spice in my life.”

“Oh, the jokes have begun.”

“They never stopped, August. They go on for eternity like your a-ferret problems.”

August pointed accusingly at his friend. “Don’t.”

“SEVERA, MUST YOU DO PUNS RIGHT NOW?!” Blue asked as he sat back down. He was fiddling with his pants, but kept tossing glances at August who was still glaring at Severa.

“Well, I don’t have to.”

“THEN PLEASE DON’T DO THEM. THEY ARE HORRIBLE!” Pap requested to Severa when she sat a plate in front of him. She repeated the action with the others.

“They are just as horrible as her pick-up lines. You have to suffer with one or the other.” August chimed in while grabbing a slice of the food for himself and one for Severa. “Hey, don’t you need to cut up the slices for the bitties? Actually… can they even eat this stuff?”

“Oh, yeah I forgot. Can you get a knife, August? You’re closer and yes, they can.” Severa answered her friend who got up from his seat to fetch the utensil. She asked the bitties what they wanted. They had to snap their attention back to Severa since the skeletons had squared in on the uninvited guest. After she explained the two options, they went with pepperoni. August had returned with a pizza cutter instead after some searching when Severa was retrieving some of the lunch for the bitties.

Lunch began in silence after Severa had cut up the pizza for the bitties to eat with their hands. Severa couldn’t tell if the bitties were enjoying it and she blamed it on August’s appearance. While she understood she probably should’ve kicked August out… he was her friend and she couldn’t bring herself to do so. He was a good guy and he was worried about the bitties. It was crystal clear to Severa what August’s intentions were being in her apartment.

“Did you manage to ferret proof your apartment?” August inquired, breaking the silence. He was on his second piece.

“Yeah, just need to do the ones in the other areas and we are good.”

“Is it strange I’m surprised you still have the stuff?”

“I dunno. Maybe? I was and am still very much attached to my bird, August.”

“Your dead as fuck (“LANGUAGE!”) bird.”

“You got scolded by a bitty.” Severa pointed out while finishing her slice. The hot peppers gave her that kick she wanted.  

“I noticed.” August shook his head. “So what’s going on with you guys?”

Severa looked at the bitties then to August and shrugged. “They haven’t given me an answer yet.”

“WE HAVE DECIDED, HUMAN SEVERA.”

“Oh?”

“YES, WE WISH TO REMAIN HERE.”

Severa went silent and stared at them.

August leaned back in the chair and grinned cheekily. “You just fuckin’ did.”

“LANGUAGE, HUMAN!”

“You got scolded again.”

“Dammit.”

“HUMAN!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	4. The Ending of Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pap discovers something he enjoys much to Severa's dismay then Severa gets a phone call that leads to August's dismay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather late, but life happened. Sorry about that. The chapter is also kind of short, plus not much happens... I think.

August stayed long after the pizza was gone, eaten by the strange gang, though mostly by the two humans after the bitties had their fill. Severa couldn’t determine if the bitties liked the pizza or not, which irked her a bit, but it wasn’t necessary to know. Time slipped by the others in the room because August had began to debate with Severa about the upcoming release of the new Cosmic Runes Chronicles (or CRC) game. The little monsters were lost on the topic, but they didn't seem to mind just watching the duo go at it. August was ecstatic about the release while Severa rested on the opposite end on the spectrum. The game trailer released earlier in the week and it sent everyone abuzz including the two college students. Severa wasn’t all too thrilled with the game play shown in the announcement trailer, believing it to be more repetition similar to the last game. August chided Severa about her pessimistic attitude toward the game when it was usually the other way around. Severa was not known for her pessimism. August had, reluctantly, left only after his aunt called asking his whereabouts.

That was a while ago; Severa currently sat in one of the living room chairs with her laptop she retrieved from the study. The bitties returned to the blanket fort on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV once more. Pap mentioned he saw something earlier that he wanted to revisit, they were currently scouting for it. There was a sense of serenity around the apartment with the constant tapping from Severa’s computer and the clicking from the bitties. Everything was still and calm; only broken by a synthetic voice.

“Good evening, beauties and gentlebeauties! Welcome to the show!”

Severa’s head snapped to the television, gaze glued to the figure on the screen. “Oh, Mettaton’s on. I thought he had time slots in the early morning and late night hours?”  

“IS THAT WHO THIS IS? METTATON?”

Severa looked over at Pap who was focused on the robot on the screen. “Yep, Mettaton. The former star of the underground that took the surface by storm- or so he says. All I really know is he’s a robot made by… someone important. Anyway, he’s a big hit up here and he's part of the main superstar quartet.” Severa explained as she returned to her computer. She was reading some newly published research journals about new ocean species.

“METTATON…”

Severa caught the clear tone of wonder overtaking Pap’s voice. Oh no. She was kind of afraid to look up...; she was rightfully so. Pap’s face was awestruck and his bones were rattling. That was strange, but Severa guessed they could rattle to several things other than merely fear. Perhaps it was from any intense emotion? Mama Cry would possibly know. Severa kept watch on the tall bitty seeing his frame leaning over the edge of the fort. The young woman didn’t know what Blue was doing other than sitting in the fort- she could barely see the top of his skull.

Severa shrugged and went back to her computer letting the bitties do what they wished. She began to zone out staring at the laptop’s screen until the robotic voice snapped her out once more.

“I am excited to announce I am planning my third worldwide tour! It is going to be more fabulous and outstanding than my last one!” Mettaton announced causing Pap to gasp.

“THAT SOUNDS WONDERFUL!”

Severa sighed silently to herself then tried to focus on her task, but it proved fruitless as the robot continued his rave.

“WHAT IS A ‘WORLD-WIDE TOUR’, HUMAN?” Blue asked.

Severa thanked the small bitty internally for the distraction against who was on her television, although her eyes never left her computer screen. “A world-wide tour is a bunch of shows shown in different cities all around the world that the person, in this case, Mettaton, will appear at and perform.”

“METTATON WILL BE THERE?!”

Severa looked toward the bitties who were staring at her. One with concern and the other still awestruck by the robot. “... Yes, but his shows are always crowded and loud. I highly doubt you’d be able to handle it right now.” Severa was being honest about it even though she understood it would probably sadden Pap to hear it.

“O-OH…”

Aw, crud. He looked like a kicked puppy. How did a skeleton manage to look like that? “... It's gonna take some time for the tour to start anyway. Mettaton is known to announce tours and things months in advance of the actual thing. You got time, Pap.”

That lit the bitty’s expression right up. “I SEE!!”

“BY THE WAY HUMAN… YOU SOUNDED LIKE YOU’VE BEEN TO ONE OF THESE “SHOWS" BEFORE.” Blue remarked.

“That's because I have. I got dragged to one by one of my closest friends, Abigail. That girl is a big fan of Mettaton, so I got tickets to go to one and learned how they went down normally through experience.” Severa explained ruefully. She hadn’t enjoyed the show Abby had dragged her to; it was too loud, too flashy, too… _racy_ for Severa’s taste. Aah, but the things Severa will yield to for her loved ones. Severa glanced at the show on that thought. Abby mentioned Mettaton had a new showing for a… talk show? Yep, a talk show as the show was titled “A Talk with former deadly killing machine! Starting Mettaton!” They gained a special guest every episode airing which was pre-recorded in front OF a live audience. Abigail’s ramblings were coming back a bit.

On that note, Severa returned to her reading trying her best to ignore the superstar. She was able to get in a groove with Pap’s gasps and Blue’s muffled noises in the background. It seemed Blue wasn’t the most impressed with Mettaton while Pap, undoubtedly, was becoming a big fan of the robot. Severa wasn’t too thrilled with this trail of thinking, but it was good he found something to enjoy.

* * *

 

Time ticked away and Severa was once more knocked from her groove by a voice.

“GOODBYE, METTATON!”

The show ended and Severa looked up toward the bitties. Pap was waving at the darkening screen and Blue was sitting on the wall of the fort with his legs criss-crossed. “I DO AGREE THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE.” Blue told to Pap who nodded enthusiastically enough that Severa was worried his head might pop off.

“YES! THIS METTATON MUST BE A TRUE GENIUS OF... SHOWBIZ!!” Pap acclaimed and it took every ounce of Severa’s power not to snort at the proclamation. Pap noticed Severa now and began singing praises about the robot to the human until Severa cut him off him.

“I don’t mean to rain on your parade, Pap, but... you only saw his talk show. How are so enamored with him already?”

“THE HUMAN HAS A POINT! PERHAPS ONE OF THE OTHERS ARE JUST AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN METTATON?” Blue interjected.

“I did not mean it by that.” Severa’s comment falls on deaf ears as Blue continued on.

“SHE MENTIONED HE WAS PART OF A GROUP! WHAT OF THE OTHERS?” Blue directed the question to Severa.

“You're asking me questions I don't know the answers to. That's Abby’s area of expertise, not mine.”

“IS THERE ANYWAY TO ASK THIS ABBY OF SHOWBIZ EXPERTISE?” Pap requested prompting Severa to give him a simple nod.

“I mean, yeah, it'd just take a phone call or text message.”

“PLEASE ASK HER!”

Wait, what? She just gazed at the small monsters in confusion. They wanted her to do what?

“HUMAN.” Blue urged her.

Severa slowly took out her phone after caving from the intense stares of the two bitties. What was happening?

 

 

> **[Severa]** Who are the other members of the group Mettaton is in?

Severa shot the text to her friend and informed the bitties it’d take a bit to hear back. They seemed to understand and kept up their… argument? Honestly, Severa was completely lost, but she felt like if she asked… Nope. Just _nope_ . She was satisfied with hearing their back and forth. From the pieces she grasped, Blue wasn’t taken by Mettaton like Pap was and believed there to be someone better? Pap thought otherwise. The situation would be more amusing to her if she wasn’t outright startled by the fact that Pap had only seen Mettaton for _one measly episode_ and captivated by the robot already. It was only going to get worse from there. She could feel it. She didn’t know how or when, but it was. And boy, did it unnerve her.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF METTATON, HUMAN SEVERA?” Pap questioned Severa.

Severa was startled by the question. She was content with just sitting and watching their banter, never expecting to be dragged into their disagreement. What did she think of Mettaton? He was the (former) rolling calculator who held one of her best friends’ attention for the longest time. She heard hours upon hours of gushing about the robot from day one to present day, but nothing ever stuck with Severa. The only thing she knew was she held a disdain for his live shows. He was just another celebrity that she never paid any heed to, so ultimately… “No comment.”

“BUT YOU JUST MADE A COMMENT.” Blue pointed out, clearly confused.

“OH! YOU MUST MEAN THAT YOU HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR FEELINGS FOR METTATON!” Pap, somehow, deduced.

Blue puffed out his cheeks, crossing his arms to express his growing annoyance.

Severa opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by her phone ringing. She pulled out her phone seeing a new text.

 

 

> **[Abigail]** Mettaton, Napstabot, Neon, and Rave are the main faces. They are known to have guest appearances tho~ Why~?
> 
> **[Severa]** Thanks and… it's a bit(ty) complicated to explain.
> 
> [ **Abigail]** I wanna smack you!

Severa reiterated her friend’s text and with the bitties’ encouragement, she searched for pictures of the quartet on her laptop.

“IF YOU COULD HAVE USED THIS…-”

“Computer.”

“-COMPUTER, THEN WHY HAD YOU NOT EARLIER?” Blue asked, puzzled.

“... It never crossed my mind to.”

Never in her days would Severa have guessed she would be looking up so much information about superstar robots. She connected her computer to her flat screen to display it for the duo in their plush fort. They were searching all sorts of things about them from ratings to recorded shows on YouTube to basic gossip. Severa swore to herself to erase everything from her memory later. She had better things to occupy that space with like game release dates and theories, but until then, she would indulge the bitties in their curiosity. It only ended when Severa’s door was thrown open by a familiar face.

“I'm not done talking to you about CRC, Sev.”

Severa rolled her head to the side, gazing over to the new arrival. “Welcome back, August. Come to get proven wrong again?”

August chuckled with his arms crossing over his chest with a proud look. “I wasn't losing our disagreement, girl. You are just being uncharacteristically pessimistic. Seriously.”

Severa laughed good-naturally at her friend’s comment, but made no rebuttal.

“YOU MUST WAIT TO RESUME YOUR STRANGE CONVERSATION WITH THE HUMAN, OTHER HUMAN.” Blue announced turning toward August who gazed upon him in surprise.

“Oh? Did I interrupt something?”

“YES. (“No.”) WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF DISCOVERING A TRUE GENIUS.” Pap joined in with clear mirth in his voice. “IT IS NOT TIME FOR YOUR SILLY GAME DISCUSSIONS WHEN WE HAVE IMPORTANT (“Help me.”) MATTERS TO ATTEND TO.”

August made his way into his friend’s apartment, closing the door behind him and plopping down in the only open chair in the living space. He slouched down in it, tilting his head to stare over at Severa in unmistakable glee. He mouthed _nope_ ending with a popping sound. He cracked a smile at his friend when she stuck out her tongue at him. “So what’s this ‘important matter’ that I interrupted?”

“METTATON!(“NAPSTABOT!”)” Both bitties replied with vigor toward August who looked completely uninterested at the mention of their names.

“...Oh.” August closed his eyes and seemingly melted into the chair. He failed to catch the scrutinizing look Blue had on him or the way Pap seemed to fidget casting glances to August.

Severa hadn’t. She gazed at her friend, eyeing his relaxed posture, but his uneasy expression was an open window to his inner turmoil. The young woman’s grip on her computer weakened as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. While she wouldn’t normally pry about someone’s obvious pain; August was one of the expectations.

… But she always knew August would tell her when he was ready, and this wasn’t the time to be making a scene. Who knew how the bitties would react to such a change and they were very active which while strange to Severa, she also wanted to let it drag out for as long as possible. She stared long enough that August must’ve felt it because the latter began to move and they made eye contact when August turned his head and she gave him a small nod. She watched a weak grin spread across her friend’s features in return and he returned to his fusion with the chair. She relaxed at the action knowing August would tell her what was bothering him, though she had a guess what it could be. She dispelled the train of thought before she went too deep.

She gripped her computer again when abruptly, a ringtone sang out.

August to call out. “Seriously, Sev? 8-bit?”

“Hush.” Severa countered, retrieving her phone and swiping to answer not bothering to look at the ID. “Yeah, boss?”

“ _Severa, I’ll get to the point. Keri called in sick for tomorrow, so I need you to come in to cover for her absence.”_ Velma’s voice permeated over the receiver with a tone that suggested she was _done_.

“... I shouldn’t be surprised, but still! How early are we talking?” Severa replied, standing up from her chair and placing her laptop on the table.

“ _Opening._ ”

Severa grumbled at the answer. “I already have the night shift tomorr-” She cut herself off as she snapped her eyes over to the small creatures currently in the plush fort. “Oh, _shit_.”

“LANGUAGE, HUMAN.” Blue muttered as if on reflex.

August straighten himself in the chair, watching Severa closely like both bitties.

“ _Severa? Is everythi-_ ”

The young woman cut off her boss by apologizing and telling her she’d call back later. “I forgot…” Severa whispered out letting her hand clenching the electronic drop to her side.

“How the hell do you forget you have the night-shift, Sev? You do it every week.” August pointed out, slouching back in the chair with a bemused expression, eyeing his friend. This caused Severa to stick her tongue out at him before motioning toward her head causing August to nod in acknowledgement. “True-”

“And today has been kind of… eventful.” Severa added, gesturing to the bitties opening with her occupied hand.

“... Right. Okay, it's understandable.” August sunk deeper into the cushions seemingly forming into them, but kept his attention on Severa as she began to pace in front of the furniture with her arms crossed and hand pressed against her mouth, deep in thought.

“HUMAN SEVERA? WHAT IS WRONG?” Pap inquired to the female human, worriedly watching her move back and forth mumbling to herself.

“I have work…” Severa muttered to herself, “if I go in at opening that’s at nine meaning I’ll need to be there no later than 8:30….” She trailed off, not hearing the question directed at her. She barely registered Blue directing the question to August, but didn’t hear his reply to it. She came to a halt in front of August.

"I don't know what I'm going to do..."

"It's fine, Sev. You're smart and you'll figure something out." August encouraged his friend, waving at the bitties already knowing what she was worried about. "They can't cause that much trouble, I mean I'm around and they seem fine." 

Severa opened her mouth to respond then promptly shut it with her eyes suddenly widening with a matching smile directed at August.

“... I don’t like that look.”

Severa grinned widely looking down at her friend, like she just had the greatest idea since sliced bread. “You can play babysitter!”

“... I **definitely** don’t like that look.” August groaned out loud, but the bitties were at a complete loss and Severa’s grin didn’t falter a bit.

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Pap inquired to Severa who looked at him.

“I’ll be gone for most of the day tomorrow, but August _never_ leaves and I don’t want you guys alone for too long. He can stay here with you and watch you two!”

“...WHAT?!” Both bitties blurt out in unison making August groan louder, but Severa just looked more proud of herself.

“You can be a **bitty** -sitter!”

“SEVERA!” 

"God dammit!"

"LANGUAGE, HUMAN!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like the bitties lecturing the humans about their language. I need someone like that. This chapter marks the end of Wednesday- seriously this day has been going on for 3 chapters on. This wasn't supposed to happen.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> ALSO I have a tumblr (completely unused): candlelightshadows.tumblr.com.


	5. The Day of the Workaholic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severa has to go to work to cover for Keri, leaving the bitties alone for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this chapter was supposed to span longer, but as I was working on it I decided to cut back on it. (Or maybe I was just lazy... Who knows.)
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will span the rest of Thursday to Friday.

Picking up someone’s shift meant several things for Severa: rushing around doing her normal tasks, picking up other co-workers’ benched tasks, and trying to help her co-workers do their normal jobs if they need the extra hands; all the while trying not to scream to the heavens in frustration. To put simply, it always became a madhouse when someone called in and the severity level depended on _who_ it was. This time was Keri Bateson, unsurprisingly, and on a 1 - 10 scale - it would be a level 6. The time Severa spent running around the whole building since she stepped through the entrance was lost; she didn’t care to check the time, but would catch a glance once in a while from her back and forth texting with August.

August was texting her updates about the bitties in her apartment while she was at work, but while he wouldn’t remain there, they agreed he would check up on them periodically. August was _technically_ supposed to be working himself and he openly admits his aunt terrifies him, so he didn’t want his aunt catching him slacking more than usual. It only worked out this way since Severa was confident that Prince couldn’t get in from the vents if he got out since she finished covering them all and adding extra precautions around the windows and the balcony.

The likelihood of Prince escaping anytime soon is relatively slim at the present time. Joyce went after Adams after she learned what happened with the bitties as soon as she could. Even other bitties owners within the complex came to Joyce to complain about the ferret’s antics when they caught wind of Joyce cutting into the older woman’s animal keeping. Things were changing around the apartment building and the attack on Pap and Blue was the last straw Joyce had. There was currently a new pet code being written out because everyone had had enough of the ferret and Joyce was worried that one day, something might happen, plus she was sick and tired of Adams’ excuses for the animal.

Severa pushed the metal cabinet bottom door closed with her foot, scanning the contents of a large yellow folder she pulled out of it after she rose from her initial crouch. She nodded to herself seeing it was the right documents and closed the folder before heading back to Maya who was supposed to be in the back-end of the dolphin enclosure. Severa headed in that direction and once arrived gave her co-worker the folder earning her a gracious thank you from the woman. It was then a voice came over the walkie-talkie at her hip.

“ _‘Ey, Sev_!”

Severa waved Maya off when the woman gave her a small playful smile with her eyebrow raised at the sound of the voice.  The young woman stuck her tongue out at her co-worker in response to the expression which earned her a laugh from the latter. “Yeah, JayJ?” She answered into the electronic.

“ _Mind helping me with the new shipment inventory that just came in?_ ” JayJ responded over the intercom.

“Sure, I’ll meet you in the unloading dock in a bit.” Severa put her walkie talkie back as JayJ confirmed her statement and the line went dead. She fled from her co-worker before the teasing could begin. From the back halls of the aquarium, it is easy to navigate her way to the unloading dock where JayJ was. Severa noticed the large, steel doors were spread wide open once she arrived which indicated what JayJ mentioned about the shipment arriving was true. It was only a matter of reviewing the arrived products are correct and they could begin their next phase whatever that entails for the items. Severa slipped her way through the doors, quickly spotting her co-worker near a large set of boxes marked ‘FRAGILE’ in white tape across them.

“JayJ, I have arrived!” Severa announced, stopping beside a rather tall man holding a clipboard.  

"So you have." The man responded looking up from the clipboard, meeting Severa's gaze. "That was rather quick. Where'd ya come from?"

"Dolphin enclosure." Severa said. "Maya needed some reports of the dolphins from the main office."

"Ah. So, have you basically been running around all day?" JayJ handed over the clipboard to Severa who took it and began looking over the shipment list.

"Pretty much."

"Wow... you are getting enough of sleep, right?" JayJ asked moving toward the crates, casting a side glance at his co-worker. He's met with silence that made him sigh. "Sev..."

"What?" Severa didn't look up.

"Who are you covering for?"

"Guess." Severa replied with ease, but she couldn't stop her grip tightening around the board. She wouldn't lie to herself about being upset about covering for the woman. It wasn't the first time she'd done it and won't be the last. She was always losing sleep because she'd have to cover for Keri. It was unfair in Severa's mind, but Keri was above her in rank and it was Severa's name that was listed to cover for the older woman(no matter what she tried to do to change that). It was her fault now that she was at work and not at home watching over the bitties. Severa tried to ignore the feeling rising in her gut as she focused her attention on JayJ and work. Now was  _not_ the time for her worry.

Severa's co-worker let out a heavy sigh and he read one of the labels. "Keri, again?" He looked over to his companion seeing her nodding in response. Her tense expression wasn't lost on him. “Man, Keri is a real piece of work.” JayJ whistled while returning to checking some the labels on the boxes. Afterwards, he waved to the workers from the tractor trailer in thanks. “When do you think she’ll finally be fired?”

“When Hell freezes over-”

“You mean like what happened a decade ago?” Severa noticed him trying to change the subject.

Severa didn’t look up from the clipboard, but snorted in amusement. “Oh yeah, I remember. The day of reckoning everyone thought was upon us- Or, doomsday, Judgement Day, the apocalypse- whatever you want to call it. It was the day everyone went ape-shit when the monsters appeared above ground.” Severa expanded on JayJ’s comment. She read off the inventory that appeared on the list for JayJ while he examined the labels. As she went over it, she noticed an unmarked item. Steel rods… The steel rods weren’t seen yet. Were they suppose to arrive today or tomorrow? She was pulled from her thoughts as her companion spoke out.

“Did I ever tell you my bro flipped out when he saw the news, swearing up and down this was just some giant prank or weird conspiracy by the government.” He snickered at his reminiscing. “How’d your family react, Sev?”

“I don’t know what their initial reaction was, but at some point they came into my room and requested for me to slap them.” The young woman was forced to look up when JayJ began to laugh loudly at her comment, but had enough sense to grasp the side of the one of the crates they were near, it got worse as she continued on nonchalantly. “That was a very weird thing to hear from my parents at like eight in the morning when I was eleven. I tried rolling back over and going back to sleep, but they weren't having it. I ended up smacking my dad with my pillow when he ‘threatened’ to pick me up.” Severa watched the older one wheeze out, gasping for air at the end of her story and laughed herself at the view. She let JayJ get his breath back before asking. “How old were you anyway? 13 or 14?”

“I-” JayJ was still giggly. “F-fourteen-n. My bro-o… was 17 at the time-e so-o…” He covered his stomach with his arm while breathing deeply trying to catch his breath.

Soon enough, they went back to checking inventory for the new shipments. With their conversation fresh in her mind, Severa began to think about what transpired all those years ago. She was young when the barrier breaking occurred, so there isn’t much she was aware of during the monsters initial arrival on the surface other than many humans losing their minds. The event frightened her parents which she’s pretty positive was the reason it worried her when the news was still relatively fresh.

JayJ had Severa trail after him as they went down the list of the shipment; checking off things as they appeared and talking shit about Keri. It had Severa laughing from time to time and helped her loosen up. Severa ended up yawning periodically that caused JayJ to gaze at her and ask if she wanted to take a break occasionally. The young woman always declined the offer which made the man huff, but he didn't argue about it. Severa's mind continued on reminiscing throughout the job. As time went on, things settled and people stopped freaking out for the most part(minus the closed minded pricks); the humans & monsters began working together to assist them to life on the surface. The process had a few bumps, naturally, here and there, but fortunately it's been smooth sailing which led to the present. Monsters lived their lives on the surface and things are pretty good. It is rare to find problems rising between the two species. Ten years have passed since the barrier shattered, changes occurred and unknown mysteries emerged, but that wasn’t a bad thing.

“I think that’s everything-” Severa slipped from her thoughts and reviewed the checklist. Oh- “... except the steel rods.”

“Again? Why’s it always the steel rods that are late?” JayJ grunted looking at the clipboard Severa presented to him. He grasped the employee walkie-talkie hanging from his belt and spoke into the radio. “‘Eyo, boss.”

A buzz followed by a distorted voice came over the intercom. “ _Yes, JayJ?_ ”

“The steel rods are late again. Who and when did they get ordered?”

"My guess is the banshee.” Severa threw in before she could stop herself.

“Who?” Severa’s coworker responded quizzingly turning to the other with a matching puzzled expression.

“ _If that was Severa, she’s talking about Keri._ ” the duo’s superior clarified inducing a look to be sent at Severa by her companion. Severa, in return, nodded proudly.

“You _do_ listen to me!”

“ _I’ll go check the records in a bit, so just go on_ (“Hey!”) _with your other duties, please._ ” Velma finished and she cut the line before getting a response from her employees.

The two did as they were instructed; splitting off to go on with their next task once they finalized the shipment. Severa made her way down a massive corridor with a large glass displaying various types of underwater fish swimming about though she made no mind to the beauty beside her. The opposite wall was old cut stone that at first glance seemed real, but Severa knew it was a large art piece done years ago to spice up the space when the original dark color was outdated. Severa couldn’t help to stop in her tracks and turned her gaze to the glass shining with the life behind it. The feeling was rising once again.

Ebott Aquarium held the title of largest established marine exhibit and museum. It was the largest aquarium on record and has continuous growth to the facility. It houses many types of sea life in its underwater habitats, deals with visitor interactions, holding their own on-site research and has expeditions all across the world to conduct field research. Most of it began under Velma’s control and it has only skyrocketed from there with improvements and expansions on the drawing board and scheduled to begin sometime soon(?). Severa believed it was an expansion to the shark display tanks next on the agenda, but she’d have to double check later if she remembered. She adored the aquarium and always felt a sense of joy and serenity whenever she walked its halls. Even the banshee couldn’t disturb her from the sense of peace the felt around it.

Except now, Severa was antsy. Worry gripped to her mind and a peg of fear merged in popping up occasionally. She was able to contain it while she worked since JayJ was distracting her, but she was sure he noticed her restlessness and chose not to comment on it. That was something she was grateful for. While her mind raced, Severa could feel the heaviness of her phone residing in her pocket knowing she could ease her soul if she’d _just texted August_ , but she knew if she did, she might not stop. She gazed at her reflection in the glass and sighed in defeat before pulling out her cell.

She saw it was close to noon, but was surprised to find a text message waiting for her. She unlocked the electronic swiftly then let out a breathy laugh. It was from August.

 

 

 

> **[August]** I know you well enough by now to know you’re probably worrying outta your damned mind. You got distracted tho, didn’t you? Good! Keep it up! I don’t need my phone blowing up with you constant probing! For an update, the bitties are fine. I check on ‘em once in hour or whatever. Pretty frequently. They seem to like looking through your books and i found crayons in a drawer. I gave it to them with some paper for whatever. Should I give them something for lunch, momma mia? This is a long ass message…

Severa read the message and responded to it.

 

 

 

> **[Severa]** Order something and eat w/ them please. I’ll pay u back

She sent the reply and breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves. She jolted in her spot when the object vibrated in her hold.

 

 

 

> **[August]** Gotcha. Btw my aunt and Adams had a showdown earlier about the furball. Give ya the details later.

Severa felt a grin tug at the corners of her mouth and she couldn’t help the snicker that escaped. She put away her phone before she thought to respond and lose herself. It was the little things like that that made a warm feeling swell in Severa’s soul. She had great friends and she sometimes forgot that even if it should be common sense by then. She shook her head, turned back to walk down the corridor since the young woman was still on the clock, but worry rested deep within that she _knew_ wouldn’t leave any time soon. The bitties were in good, reliable hands. With that final thought, she went back to walking only to be stopped when she heard her name called. It seemed someone needed her assistance.

* * *

 

The young woman was walking down a back hallway leading from the breakroom when she comes to see Velma standing in the middle of the hall, looking over her infamous clear plastic clipboard and she did _not_ look happy. Should she intervene? Severa thought about it and nodded to herself. This was Velma and she trusted her boss.

“You don’t look too happy, boss.” Severa stated coming to a halt next to the older woman and gazed at the clipboard seeing it was the ordering list and other things.

“Good observation. I’m not in the slightest, Severa.” Velma remarked bitterly. The older woman flipped through the pages on the plastic before shoving Severa the object. “Look at this.”

Severa blinked, looked at the sheet shown to her and huffed out a laugh. “No wonder you’re not happy.” The paper shown was the request order sheet from over a month ago that had steel rods on it, but there was a sign off that replaced the steel with copper rods. The original request was made by Suzie, a normal thing, but later on someone signed off for a change to the order and it was a mystery who did it. That wasn’t good to do, it was against regulations for it to be blank. “JayJ is gonna be pissed when he finds out someone swapped the order.” Severa added turning toward her boss with her arms crossed.

“Not only that, we are getting **copper rods** instead on top of them being late, but that _does_ explains why they are late to begin with.” Velma sighed, moving the clipboard flat against her chest, in frustration. “Do me a favor and go report to JayJ then you can head out until your next shift.”

“Ah, yes, my 9 hour shift.” Severa nodded moving backwards form her boss in a humorous manner that caused Velma to shake her head at her worker’s antics.

“Yes, how blessed you are to have such a generous boss as myself letting you go home before returning to come earn what I pay you for.” The sarcasm dripped from Velma’s voice like honey and she pointed the board at Severa’s reverted retreating form.

“Should I kiss your feet?”

“ _Go_!” Velma laughed loudly, jabbing the clipboard harshly in the direction of the hall.

Severa bolted away to find JayJ and head home to hopefully nap for a bit at her boss’ command. Hopefully, she was able to brighten up her boss's day even just a bit. Something told Severa things were about to get messy at work.

* * *

 

After running around, she found JayJ in the stingray exhibit tending to some equipment. He wasn’t thrilled to hear of the mess up and vowed to find who did it. Severa left JayJ after helping him a bit with the diving equipment and went to the locker room to grab her tote and other items. The locker room was near the break room, so Severa was backtracking through several back hallways for the employees only that were all the same, views inside the tanks. Although most had murals or blown up pictures of the undersea life (instead of the decorative stone) on the walls and doors scattered about. She entered the door near the stingray exhibit with her access pass and quickly made her way through the maze until she hit the one where she ran into her boss (who was gone).

She was close enough that she slowed down a tad and grabbed her cell. The time displayed was near a quarter past one, so Severa should make it home by 1:30; have enough time to take a nap and check on the freeloaders. She unlocked her electronic and noticed several new texts and notifications from her social networking sites. She decided to check her texts first and grinned brightly when she saw the first name.

 

 

 

> **[Avery]** I want to get together Saturday.

Severa thought on it a bit and nodded to herself shooting one back as she continued her way down the hall slowly.

 

 

 

> **[Severa]** I get off at 2 PM Aves
> 
> **[Avery]**  Excellent! See you then, bella. Oh, Serafino says hello
> 
> **[Severa]** Aaah my favorite summer firefly~ :3
> 
> **[Avery]** I showed him the message and he turned blue. You two are adorable!

Severa chuckled at the message and sent a heart emoji in response, continuing on to look at her other awaiting texts. Her smile morphed into a frown when she noticed another text, more like a string of texts, which she promptly deleted to gaze at her final one. August’s name appeared on top of her messages and she snickered, smile returning as she opened her conversation with the guy. A picture appeared on screen of her apartment’s small hallway floor and the two tiny skeletons freeloading in her home sprawled in the middle. They were surrounded by several of her books- picture books Severa purchased for Lucia years ago- opened to various pictures and blank printer paper everywhere with the crayons August mentioned before. The angle the photo was taken showed the bitties were unaware of it; it was taken by August from above. He probably found the sight funny.

 

 

 

> **[August]** I found ‘em like this when I came to eat lunch w/‘em. how’d they get the books down???
> 
> **[Severa]** Magic? They do have that.

Severa replied and couldn’t help, but save the image to her phone. While doing so, her mind slipped back to the string of texts before August’s. Should she have read them? She never did before though, so why now? They _never_ change. Severa’s smile fell flat as her thoughts raced until snapping out of them when she realized she’d reached the locker room. Sighing, she opened the door making her way into the room. There were a few others occupying the space, but she barely paid them mind though she was vaguely aware of the fact they would’ve normally spoken to her as soon as she entered the room. Her outward demeanor must have changed enough that they are leaving her alone (not like she had much of a problem with that). Her mood was dim as it was and where her thoughts were going, wasn’t helping the matter, but Severa didn’t care. Work was the only thing that could’ve busied her mind, but she was leaving and the thoughts she was trying to keep at bay were returning full throttle.

She reached her assigned locker and opened the metal door, coming to see her tote bag hanging in it center view. The same tote bag the bitties, currently in her apartment, stowed away in and took a joyride in to said apartment. Her train of thought spun in an alternate direction, focusing more on the bitties with questions arising. There were so many questions that the young woman had regarding the small skeletons, but she didn’t wish to dig too deep into them for a multitude of reasons. Alas it certainly didn’t lessen her curiosity about them, so that curiosity would be forever. On that final thought, she abandoned her current state of mind and grabbed her tote from the locker and dug out her earphones to pass the time during her bus ride. She wanted to focus on something besides the small bitties even for a brief time. She plugged them into the jack of her phone, turned her music on shuffle and just let herself zone out as she exited the locker room after shutting her own locker.

* * *

 

The whole way home was a blur to the young woman. It was a routine commute she was used to, so she could do it blind, if necessary. She was kind of surprised she hadn't fallen asleep during it. The apartment building air conditioning blasted Severa with a wave of cold that sent a gentle chill down her spine as she entered through the door. The humidity outside was rather high today. The temperature change was pleasant. Severa felt as if her skin was melting and mixing into her clothing from being outside even for the short time. She was going to have to wash her work uniform.

Severa glanced over the lobby looking for August, but came up empty. She shrugged it off. She’d find him before she left to return for the second shift in a few hours. She pulled out her earphones while pulling out her cell, checking the time. It was a bit past 1:30 which meant she had three hours to nap and possibly accomplish other things. Severa made her way to the stairwell despite the thought of her upcoming nap causing a wash of exhaustion to overcome her. She knew she was still tired fromvthe lack of sleep she had yesterday, plus last night wasn’t exactly the best. With the worry of the bitties and her forgetting to take her medication, _again_ , it was coming back to bite her in the ass. Then again, this wouldn’t be the first time nor the last time she put herself in the similar condition. She trudged up the seven flights of stairs, silently cursing herself for having one so high but then, mentally reasoning she didn’t have much choice when she first moved in.

After what felt like an eternity on the stairs, she finally made contact with the floor and found the energy to quicken her pace to her door and try to open it. It wouldn’t open. Severa spent several seconds too long to realise she hadn’t unlocked the door. Slowly, she dug out her keys from her bag and unlocked the door in silence. If that wasn’t a good indicator she needed a nap, she didn’t know what was. Severa made her way into the apartment, locked her door once she was in then leaned her back against it before sluggishly sinking down to the floor. Her spare energy was gone from that small dash to her door. She tossed her bag to the side and decided she’d best announce her presence to the bitties.

“Hey guys, I’m back…,” Severa called out. “...for now.” she mumbled out the final part, running one hand through her charcoal black locks. She was so tired and couldn’t find the energy and drag herself to her bed. She had half a-mind to just lay in front of the door and _sleep_. She was dragged from her internal debate from the pattering of small feet across the wooden floorboards and she looked ahead to see the bitties. (Being so tired, she hadn’t realised the worry that was eating at her was growing as she got closer to home until she saw them.)

“Welcome Back, Severa!” Blue greeted Severa with a wide grin though it fell flat as Severa gazed at him.

Pap held a look of concern to match Blue’s and asked to the human. “Are You Alright?”

“I need a nap…” Severa pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them.

“Please Don’t Be Lazy, Human Severa!” Pap warned her placing his hands on his hip bones. “Napping For Six Hours Is A Waste.”

Severa blinked owlishly in silence before snorting in amusement. “That’s a nap I wish I could achieve, but woe is me, I’ll only be out for two hours at most.”

“Why Nap At All? You Are Finally Home.” Blue pointed out. “Should You Not Try To Exercise Or Eat Something?”

“I need sleep, guys. I’m just so tired....” Severa yawned. The floor was looking more inviting by the minute.

“If You Need It Then Please Do _Not_ Sleep On The Floor.” Blue warned her this time causing her to grin.

“You’re lucky I’m too tired to make a pun at the moment.” Severa let her eyes close as she continued to listen out for the bitties.

“Do You Like Puns That Much?” Pap asked after a few moments of silence that caused Severa to open her eyes and look at the bitty. He was gazing to the side, fidgeting in place. Was he nervous about the question or asking _her_ the question?

“Truth be told, yes, I do. I enjoy wordplay and it's something I picked up from my father long ago.” Severa answered honestly after some contemplation on her part. She brought her arms around her legs and hugged them tightly even as she smiled to herself, gaze locking on the hardwood. It was true though; if she had to guess why she liked puns so much it was because her father used to do it so often. “I also like riddles, sudoku, puzzles, and other things like that…”

“YOU LIKE PUZZLES?!” Blue and Pap both exploded in volume which caused Severa to visibly flinch. She picked up her head and brought her legs down to cross them then nodded to the bitties. (She didn’t realise until then they were speaking lower than their usual volume.)

The bitties seemed to notice their mistake and Pap lowered his volume back down before asking what type of puzzles Severa enjoyed. Before Severa could answer his question, she yawned again, reminding how weary she currently was. The young woman shook her head, trying to wake herself up a bit before pushing herself up from the ground.

“Cryptic ones…” Severa mumbled out while slipping out of her shoes and shoving them to the side near her tote. She was losing focus and she wanted to get to her room before she really decided to sleep on the floor no matter what the bitties said.

Severa made her way to her room, not even pausing when she heard one of the bitties(Blue?), sputter out calling to her. She only did so when she came to the hallway, viewing the bitties’ clutter consuming it. It changed somewhat from the photo August sent her earlier.

“Good. You found things to occupy yourselves with. Sorry there's not much here your size.” Severa stated out maneuvering her way to her bedroom. The young woman grasped and turned the knot once she made it and with a gentle push, the door swung wide open. After making a quick check around seeing everything was the same(August likes to _borrow_ her things when she's gone), Severa made no waste in collapsing into her mattress. She sighed contently, shifting somewhat to make herself comfortable. She made the executive decision of forgoing changing to charge straight into napping. She was too tired for anything, minus setting an alarm for two hours. She was nearly out when she swore she felt _something_ press against her check. It might've been nothing, but did it wish her good night?

* * *

 

Waking up from slumber wasn’t something easy to do when forced from its deep grip from an obnoxious noise blasting in one’s ear. Severa understood this well from experience and was always thankful to those times when she woke up naturally without the “help” of her alarm. This was one of those times. Her mind was aware of her surroundings after the normal momentary confusion; forced her eyes to flutter open just to shut them from the greeting of the bright lights of her room. She grumbled to herself about wanting to go back to sleep, but that wasn’t an option.

As she laid on her side across the black comforter, her mind tried to review what transpired before she fell asleep. She barely remembered going through the door of her apartment. Did she really turn on the lights? That was stupid of her to, if so. It would still be early afternoon, so the sun would be shining and it being mid-summer, the sun wouldn’t be setting until later in the day anyhow. Then again, "Tired" Severa did whatever the hell "Tired" Severa wanted and let "Future" Severa deal with the consequences. "Tired" Severa was easygoing. Severa amused herself thinking of a comparison. She couldn’t tell which would be worse, "Tired" Severa or _"_ _Plastered"_ Severa. "Plastered" Severa was always a fun story to tell. She should ask Avery when her friend comes over Saturday who would be worse.

Severa moved to lay on her back, but paused when she felt something press against her upper stomach. She slowly opened her eyes, trying to ignore the bright lights and locate the pressure. What she found caused a sense of awe to fill her being, but a bit of puzzlement as well. What she saw were the bitties holding each other tightly and practically burrowed into her stomach. When did they get up there? _How_ did they get up on the bed?

The young woman’s brows furrowed in confusion. Did she bring them in with her? It… wouldn’t of been a smart move. She thought she’d have enough sense not to do things like that which could cause attachment. She was helping them, yes, but she had no intention of keeping them. The very _notion_ was asking for trouble. Chester was one thing. These bitties were a whole ‘nother can of worms Severa never wished to open. Her train of thought was derailed when the alarm began to chime. She cursed her luck and searched for her phone to switch off the alarm before the bitties wake up. She succeeded in turning off her alarm and looked down at the bitties to make eye contact with two pairs of unfocused eyelights staring up at her. The expressions they bore were indescribable, but made Severa dreadfully uncomfortable. She greeted them just to scamper out of bed then out of sight. She _certainly_ didn’t like those expression. She quickly made her way to her bathroom to rinse her face as a familiar sinking sensation settled in her stomach. The distinct feeling she might _vomit_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated! No, seriously, every time I see a new one I let out an inhuman noise of glee.
> 
> You can always drop by my fanfic tumblr @candlelightshadows to say "hi" or I don't know, quote Witch Doctor lyrics to me. There isn't much there though.
> 
> I told the witch doctor I was in love with you~


	6. The Night of the Workaholic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severa has to go to her night-shift at work, but has some hours to waste beforehand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually manage to make my goal! It spans over the rest of Thursday to Friday~ but it also ended up over 11k. Special thanks to a good friend of mine for helping me by editing this monstrosity.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter~

Severa checked the time displayed on her phone and clicked her tongue doing simple math in her head. It was a little past 3 and she needed to leave before 4:30, so she had about an hour and a half left to do somethings before her night-shift. She nodded to herself as she stirred the sauce in the pan. The pasta noodles were already drained and waiting in the larger pan on the opposite side of the  stove. Severa was able to find some bow-tie noodles and easy to prepare pasta sauce when she scavenged her kitchen. She also ran into the drawer of glitter she had forgotten to discuss with her sister earlier. After she came out of the bathroom, she focused on making herself something to eat. The snacks from the aquarium vending machines only satisfy her hunger for so long; she needed an actual meal before leaving for her next shift.

She paused from her stirring to glance over her shoulder in the direction of her bedroom. The bitties were still in her bed since she couldn’t bring herself to move them. The idea of touching them… Severa turned her attention back to the sauce with a tighter grip on the spoon. She tried to keep her thoughts straight, but they soon whirled back to the bitties asleep on her bed. She forced her thoughts to something else, the first thing was her fridge and the lack of food it had. She needed to go shopping tomorrow. She was running too low and while she was sure she had ramen buried somewhere in her kitchen, Severa didn't feel like having boring ramen. In that aspect, she was pretty sure she was ruined by her parents. They never had “plain" food, her mom always saying it was an insult to the baker she was. Severa giggled at the memory as she checked the sauce. When the sauce was done, Severa moved to turn off the stove and grab the noodles to add them to the sauce; completing the meal as she mixed them together. As she went to grab a plate from her cabinet, a knock echoed from her door then August stepped through.

“Hey, August. Here to do my dishes?” Severa said, dishing herself some pasta. August had a spare key, so he came in and out all the time without Severa caring much.

“It was to tell you what happened with Adams and my aunt, but apparently I'm also doing your dishes.” August shrugged and proceeded to do what was asked of him after grabbing the dishes from the hall. The air around the duo was serene with Severa eating at the table and August doing her dishes. He even began to hum a bit until Severa spoke up.

“So what happened with Joyce and Ms. Adams?”

August paused then chuckled at the thought. “Other than my aunt nearly bursting a blood vessel? Aunt Joyce decided to try and reason with Adams one more time, but like usual, Adams wasn't too willing to negotiate about the fuzzball. The old crone wouldn't believe that Prince was doing anything wrong, nor was she. It, allegedly, got loud in the hall; enough so, that some of the other floor residents came out to see what was going on. That's when one of the others spoke out _to_ Adams this time. Aunt Joyce told me when the others spoke, Adams’ face went pale and the old hag couldn’t rebut anything. For a few seconds at least, then she started to bring up _you_.”

Severa stopped eating to give August her full attention, but she could already see where this was going. The first and _only_ person to ever speak against Adams was Severa, herself, when she first moved in. Prince got into her apartment and went _after_ Chester. It… was the reason she went and ferret-proofed her apartment in the first place.

“I don’t know where she was trying to go with it, but Aunt Joyce shut her down real quick. It was then she threatened Adams with eviction. Oh, did you know she’s a racist piece of shit?”

“Can’t say I’m surprised…” Severa returned to eating, swallowing her irritation down. The fact the old woman had the _audacity_ to bring up her deceased companion really irked her. Like always though, she swallowed her emotions to save face. She didn’t want to deal with Adams. “So what did she say that makes you say that?”

“Well, more like species- _ist_ ? ... Is that word? Whatever. She turned around on the monsters and even bitties saying ‘ _if those animals can run without supervision, why can’t my darling Prince_?’.” August made a gagging sound at the ending of the quote causing a weird snort to spill from Severa. The sound surprised the two by their matching expression. After several seconds, August dropped the dish he was working on into the soapy water to grasp the edge of the sink, struggling with laughter to speak out. “W-What the hell was that sound, Sev?! Oh-Oh god!”

Severa, soon, was joining in the noise with her own laughter. “I don’t know!” The duo were laughing so much they failed to notice the appearance of two certain small bitties emerging from Severa’s bedroom.

* * *

August couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of Severa’s snort. Holy _shit_ . He never would’ve thought when he first met her over 2 years ago, they would be in her apartment laughing at the ridiculous sounds she’d make from her nose. They were both dorks and he _reveled_ in it. He took multiple deep breaths to calm down and noticed the duo standing nearby then waved at them, grinning.  “Hey you two-o…”

He watched the bitties slowly make their way across the small stretch of open area to the kitchenette of the apartment. Out of the corner of his eye, August noticed Severa turned around to look at the duo herself. He couldn’t see her face, but her posture seemed… stiff? He looked toward her for a better view, but saw nothing like before. Perhaps he was imagining it? He mentally shrugged it off and turned back to the bitties.

“Hey.” Severa’s greeting was pretty soft before she turned back to eating. August gazed at her for a bit before looking toward the bitties seeing them halted at the kitchen entrance. The bitties’ clothes were wrinkled and askew in some areas which August found funny. It reminded him of when Severa woke up after a double all nighter.

“Hello.” Pap greeted August and Severa with Blue being rather silent. August observed the duo for a bit. There was something off about them right now. He glanced between Severa eating and the bitties just stand- now, Pap was shuffling his feet and Blue had a grip on his bandanna. Was it just him or were all of them acting weird? His thoughts were cut short when he heard Severa begin to speak.

“What’s brown and sticky?”

August snorted. “What?”

“A stick.”

“You’re gonna start aren’t you?” August commented then shot the bitties an apologetic look. It seemed lost on them. On the times August visited them, they did tell him a few things, like the fact that Severa tells such horrible puns. Blue told him the puns made them feel conflicted. He wondered what the jokes were gonna do. Maybe she noticed their weird demeanor and decided to make jokes? The thought made August grin faintly.

“What do vegetarian zombies eat? _Graaaains_.”

August shook his head, letting the grin drop. He tossed a glance at the monsters seeing they had their attention _solely_ on Severa. Oh?

“What do you call a fish with no eye?”

“I don’t know.” August answered, his attention remaining on the bitties. He wanted to watch their reactions. If they didn’t like puns then what about jokes? So far they seemed lukewarm about the humor.

“ _Fsh_.”

“The fu-” August snorted.

“LANGUAGE.” Blue warned, he even shot August a matching look. He thought the bitties weren’t paying attention to him though or maybe they are just keen on no swear words? August should ask Severa about it.

August rose his hand in a mock surrender to the bitty and shut his mouth. Severa seemed to finish her food and was placing it in the sink as she spoke again.

“Why did Sally fall off the swing?”

August was quick to look at Severa as he dropped his arms. He didn’t like where this one was going.

“She had no arms.”

“Severa.”

“Knock knock.” Did she just… ignore him?

August didn’t answer, but Pap did. “Who’s There?”

“Not Sally.” With that, August watched Severa leave the area to go to her room, mumbling about getting ready for work. … Her jokes got dark real quick. That wasn’t a good sign. The area around August was thrown into a hard silence. One he didn’t know how to break, but it looked like he didn’t have to.

“Human August…”

August returned his attention back to the bitties, moved closer to them and crouched down. “Yeah?”

“D-Did We Do Something?” Pap was the one to ask while Blue starred in the direction Severa left in.

August sighed at the question, but shook his head. “No, I think it’s from work. Her... jokes tend to get darker the more stressed she gets. It’s rare that it happens, but it does happen. She’s got to be pretty tired too. She’s been working a lot more than usual. All of it might be getting to her right now. It’s not your fault or anything, but… how about you give her a goodbye greeting? My aunt tells our residents when they leave to “have a safe trip”. Some always seemed cheerier when she told them. Why don’tcha try that?”

The bitties seemed to brighten at his explanation a bit and agree to the idea. The three stay there and talk until Severa returned.

“I’m leaving.” Severa stated dully, not bothering to look at any of them. She walked to the door, grabbed her tote bag after slipping on her shoes, but paused when she heard the bitties shout at her to have a safe trip like August suggested. August watched as she seemed to straightened, but said nothing. Next thing the young man knew, his friend was out the door. The confusion and concern he held for her was stronger than before. Something **was** wrong. August didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but could something have happened with…? He refused to finish the thought. No use going there yet. She was more than likely just tired. He was aware she mentioned not getting enough sleep lately, plus there were her added hours, so it had to be getting to his friend by now. August nodded to himself with that reasoning, but was soon snapped from his thoughts when he heard someone call for him.

“Human August.”

August snapped his attention to the voice, seeing it was Pap. The taller bitty was looking at him, sternly while Blue just gazed at the front door. August couldn’t pin down the baby blues expression.

Pap continued on when he obtained the human’s attention, “We Would Like To Ask You Something.”

August blinked. Now, what could that be about?

* * *

… Work. Need to go to work. Severa chanted mentally as she rushed down the stairs of her complex. Each of her steps were echoing throughout the large, empty stairwell. It was the only noise surrounding her, soon enough her chants synced with her steps. In a strange way, it was able to calm her down.

She was running away. She knew. She knew _very_ well, but… the twisting sensation was getting stronger. She couldn’t stay there longer. She **couldn’t.** The young woman couldn’t understand anything at the moment. She didn’t _want_ _to_ either. She wanted to w o r k. W o rk. Yes… work. Severa had work.

Severa made it to the lobby and made quick steps to the bus stop to make the next one. They came at 15 minute intervals which was a step-up from when she was younger. The bus system became a main source of transportation after the monsters rose, so more stops were added over the years. It was upgraded over time and Severa was grateful it had. It was a 10 or 15 minute bus ride to the aquarium, normally and about half ‘n hour to her university during the school year. She could easily drive to both, but most of the time it wasn’t the brightest idea.

Severa was lost in thought when the bus came, only snapping out when the bus driver called to her. She nodded to the guy, quickly got on, then swiped her bus pass (when had she pulled that out?) and sat down. She tried to keep her thoughts down and just stared out the window until her stop. The twisting feeling in her gut as strong as ever. Why did she have to overreact over **t h a t**?

* * *

The sun shined bright, high in the late afternoon sky. The humidity was high, like usual, and Severa cursed the heavens as she made her way to the aquarium as soon as she got off the bus. She let out a sigh of relief as she entered the cool air of the building, but it didn’t last long. She checked the time on her phone as she sped to the employee locker room. She passed multiple people, from visitors to other co-workers, on her way, but she barely acknowledged them. The chattering around her seemed far away in her ears and it worsened as she got closer to her destination.

The locker room was empty, surprisingly. Severa took out her phone and checked to see who was on her shift with her. There was an app for the aquarium that Velma had developed about 2 years ago to make managing everyone easier. Employees could check out their schedules, others who were there as well, and multiple other things; but that wasn’t her main focus. She looked to see who shared her shift and when she did, she groaned out loud. She took a good long look around the room where she stood. There was _no way_ it was empty.

“...Corrie.” Severa said, hoping she could get the younger one out of her hiding place. Corrie _always_ pulled some sort of stunt, and normally Severa would be all for creating some fun with her trainee. Today was… not. Today was strange for Severa and she wasn’t in the mood for it. “Corrie, come out, seriously. It is _not_ time for this.” Severa’s tone was hard, she knew, but she couldn’t bring herself to care when she noticed a shorter, bright eyed girl come out from under some of the seats. Oh, she was hiding under the seats this time. What was she planning before?

Corrie walked over to her trainer with her hands intertwined behind her. There was a hop to her step. “Fine…” Corrie seemed to examine Severa’s face before continuing. “What’s the matter? You aren’t the downer in this place, Ms. Sev. That’s our boss’ job.”

“I don’t have the energy to deal with everything today, Corrie. I’m sure what you planned would’ve been _hilarious_ , but do it some other day. Alright?” Severa sighed as she walked over to her locker. She should get ready for her shift since Corrie already was.

“Sure!” Corrie chirped, happily. The younger girl was known to be easily agreeable which Severa silently thanked whoever for it. “But…”

Severa put her bag into her locker, not glancing at her trainee. Whatever energy she got from her nap was surely gone by now. Her over-thinking certainly made quick work of it. She felt _tired_ again. She waited for Corrie to continue on, already guessing where it was going, but it never came. Severa finished getting ready as she shut the locker and turned to see Corrie just rocking on her heels. The girl was patiently waiting for Severa to finish with a smile on her face. Severa looked at her, confused, but didn’t dwell on it too much. They had work to do.

“Alright, so when are you getting off, Corrie?”

“Whenever you do. Boss told me to just follow you around today when I arrived earlier.”

Severa blinked, surprised. “... When did you get here?”

“Over an hour ago.”

“You’ve been here over an hour?”

“Yeah.” Corrie nodded. “Stuff happened, so I came here to not deal with it.” The trainee admitted looking away from the other woman with a distant expression.

Severa just stared at her co-worker in silence. They were on the same page with that then. Severa moved her gaze to the side thinking about her recent behavior. She wanted to cool down before returning home and it seemed Corrie was in a similar situation. Now, they don’t talk about personal issues to one another. They barely know each other, so Severa won’t push the subject. She will, however, use it to what she can. Distract each other from their problems for a short time. “... Hm. So, did boss happen to mention what she wanted us to do today?” Severa asked, deciding to direct the subject.

Corrie snapped her attention to Severa in mild-shock. If Severa had to guess, it was because Corrie might have expected Severa to try to dig at it. A moment later, Corrie seemed relaxed (even grateful?) and grinned at her trainer. “No, but she said she trusted her judgement.”

Severa made a noise in acknowledgement. So, Severa had the final say in what they were going to do, huh? While Corrie was her trainee, Corrie had several trainers throughout the week. Severa happened to be one of the night ones since it was easier to train new recruits at night when it was low on visitors. The aquarium had the occasional overnight stayers, especially during vacation times, but they were under the supervision of other employees. They shouldn’t get in the way much. “Who were you with last and what did you get done with them?” Severa asked as the duo exited the locker room.

“Talon and we didn’t do much. I just ended up watching them clean the tanks in the research area…” Corrie followed her trainer with a pout. She ended up running into Severa’s back when the older one stopped in her tracks.

“Why were you with Talon? Talon isn’t one of your trainers.” Severa turned her attention to Corrie looking for answers. Who didn’t do their damn job?

“Ms. Keri didn’t come in Wednesday morning like it was listed. I didn’t know what to do, so I just grabbed someone and asked to watch them.” Corrie told Severa who felt her eye twitch.

Keri. Of _course_ it was Keri. “Why does she keep making my life difficult lately?”

Corrie grew confused and leaned her head to the side. Severa found the action rather cute and felt a surge of fondness, but didn’t dwell on it. God, this news just made her more tired. “What do you mean by that? Did Ms. Keri do something to you, Ms. Sev?”

Severa crossed her arms and shook her head. “I was here earlier as well, but it was because boss called me to cover for Keri again. Keri was supposed to come this morning, but called in sick.”

“... Again?”

“Corrie.” Severa looked at the other girl with a tired look. “You’ve been here long enough to know how bad Keri is.”

“... I thought those were just rumors. I had _hoped_ they were.” Corrie admitted giving Severa a sad look. “You cover for Ms. Keri that much?”

“I do it enough that JayJ lectured me about my sleeping habits and Velma always apologizes for calling me in.” Severa returned to walking. “Come on, let’s go check the shark tanks. Maybe we can feed them.”

Corrie followed after her trainer in silence.

* * *

Hours passed with Severa trying to teach Corrie the ins and outs of the aquarium’s shark exhibits and quizzing Corrie on the girl’s marine knowledge. It was smooth sailing that Severa hadn’t thought about the bitties much. She was even able to laugh and feel a sense of relaxation. She still felt that _feeling_ in the pit of her stomach, but it was easy to ignore. Her mind was much more at ease, so she was able to reason with herself. She just needed to be _more_ careful with them.

Around 11 at night, the duo were in the break room eating some food that Talon had delivered earlier for the night people. Severa took the opportunity to ask her co-worker about them helping Corrie. They were just trying to be nice (which Severa suspected) when Keri hadn’t showed up to train Corrie that day. Talon mentioned they already spoke to the boss about Keri’s absence and Corrie’s impromptu observation time. Severa was always irritated by Keri. The older woman was always on Severa’s ass about something or another and managed to make her life difficult even when she wasn’t around. Her irritation with Keri was a growing issue, but a whole other issue that she pushed aside. She was good at pushing it aside.

Severa was drinking coffee, happily when she heard Corrie speak out.

“Ms. Sev, please be honest with me.”

Severa put down her mug, giving her attention to the trainee with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

“Does Ms. Keri really do all those things? Like the skipping, showing up late, and slacking on her work?”

“Among other things, but yeah. For as long as I’ve worked here that’s all she’s known for.”

“Does boss know?”

“Very well.”

“Then why hasn’t she been fired? Does boss like her-” Corrie was cut off by Severa’s hand.

“I’m gonna stop you right there, Corrie. Velma can barely stand the _banshee_ -”

“Banshee?”

“Keri, and would love nothing more than to fire her. The thing is… Keri is kind of untouchable.”

“I don’t understand.” Corrie grew confused.

Severa expected that. Not many know about the barriers that surround Keri Bateson and she contemplated on how to explain it to the younger one. “Okay, Keri is from the Bateson family. They are a decently well-known family, but they give the aquarium a good sum of money each year in donations. Those funds are normally put toward outside research.”

“Oh, doesn’t boss rely heavily on the donations to fund the outside research? That’s what makes her untouchable?”

“If only it was that simple… while yeah, boss is worried they would take away the funding, she’s still resourceful and could easily find other ways to grab the cash for that. This is gonna sound crude, but Keri kisses the higher ups’ asses. They _like_ her, Corrie. They only have good things to say about the banshee.” Severa sighed and took another drink of her coffee, letting the hot liquid slide down her throat. “Basically, if she were fired, she could go complain and get our boss fired.”

"She could do that?!” Corrie shouted in shock and gave a strangled noise when Severa nodded in response. The piece of information clearly upset the girl. “That’s not fair!”

“Don’t you think we know that, Corrie?”

“Is that why you put up with her?!”

Severa gave a shrug, but she could feel her grudge against Keri growing with each passing second.“I don’t have much of a choice here.”

“It’s still not fair.”

“Life’s not fair.”

“I meant toward you!” Corrie pointed to Severa who furrowed her brows in surprise. Corrie continued on. “If all of that is true then I know she’s done things to _you_ personally. I heard about how she got _you_ suspended from work for two weeks for _her mistake_!”

“Where did you hear that?”

“I was with several of the new recruits during lunch one time and we ended up talking about various things. Liam let that piece of gossip slip out during the conversation. None of us really believed it, but now… did she really do that?”

Severa took a sip of her coffee once again,her eyes closing as she processed the information. It had been a few years since that incident happened; more precisely it occurred during Sev’s freshman year of college. It was the first time anything had happened of such magnitude. It was also the first time Severa remembered she verbally lashed _out_ at Velma. ‘Unfair’, Corrie had said. Of course, it was unfair. It was downright unjust. Severa remembered that day vividly and boy, did it cause another feeling to boil in her. The young woman ignored the rising sensation to focus her attention on her trainee.

“... She did.” Severa watched as several emotions passed over Corrie’s face until it settled on one- sadness. “Any other questions?”

“Will you tell me what happened?” Corrie’s voice was small.

Severa exhaled slowly. “The short version is I got blamed for _her_ mistake. A rather large mistake, I might add, and it got me suspended, without pay, for two weeks. You know all those hoops we have to go through when changing orders or really changing _anything_?”

Corrie nodded.

“Those were put up after the incident. It might be a pain, but it's to make sure no one suffers the bullshit I got put through. Thankfully, it’s worked so far…” Severa explained, but she stared at the table thinking about earlier events. Someone did change the shipments without writing who they were and it was worrisome. Did Keri figure out a way around it? No, she couldn’t have. At least, Severa hoped so. She snapped her attention back to Corrie when the other groaned.

“That’s her fault? They are so annoying!”

Severa chuckled at the girl’s dismay and threw back the rest of her drink.

Corrie shook her head in frustration before her expression changed. What was that about? “Oh! I just remembered, what is this thing about Chester and aquarium windows?”

Severa had to turn her head quickly so she didn’t spray Corrie with coffee, then nearly fell from her chair as laughter erupted from her throat. She had to ask _that._ That is a _way_ to change the topic.

* * *

“He didn’t!”

“He did! All the time!”

Severa and Corrie were walking toward the seahorse exhibits. During Severa’s _spit-take_ (Corrie was never going to let her live that down), they received a call for any able body to go check on the seahorses. Corrie had to respond to the call over Severa’s walkie-talkie since the latter was… busy. It took a bit for Severa to calm down and even then, it would start back up when she caught a look of Corrie’s face. It was a cycle that Corrie had learned to deal with early on, so all she did was grab her trainer and walk to their next task. Severa was able to calm down at some point and answer Corrie’s earlier question.

“I swear if there was one thing that boy liked more than me, it was _his_ _own_ reflection.” Severa had her arm around her stomach as she laughed at her memories. “Chester loved his reflection. When I brought him to work, he would see his reflection constantly in the tanks’ glass, so he would just start whistling to himself and say “Pretty bird~”. I mean, he was, but I had such an egotistical bird!”

“You just said he was a pretty bird, so his behavior is understandable!” Corrie argued, but grinning ear to ear from the story. “I kinda want to meet him…”

Severa’s laughter soften until it melted into a saddened smile. “He was hilarious… but there was no guarantee he would like you.”

"Whaat? Why not? I’m likable!” Corrie argued once again, looking offended. Severa could tell the expression was fake.

“Chester was picky. He had a type and if you didn’t fit in with that type you were screwed.” Severa thought on her bird’s behavior for a bit before pressing on. She had noticed Corrie just looked confused by her statement. “He absolutely detested most males and tolerated females. Don’t give me that look, it’s not my fault he was like that.”

“They say pets take after their owners~”

Severa laughed at the statement, but shook her head. “You can blame his previous owner then. I housed him in his later life, Corrie.”

“Previous owner? Wait, how did Chester die anyway?”

“Old age.”

“Wasn’t he a cockatoo? Don’t they live to be like… old?”

“Yes, some species of cockatoos can, but Chester was a blue-eyed cockatoo. They live to about 40 years of age in captivity, but normally live between 50 to 60 in the wild. Chester was 46, so I think he lived decently.”

“You say it so warmly. You really liked your bird.”

“...Yeah, I do.” Severa couldn’t stop the nostalgic smile taking over her expression. She let out a deep breath and the conversation paused as the duo came to the entrance of the seahorse exhibits. Severa switched gears to focus on the task at hand. Corrie followed her lead and soon enough the previous conversation was forgotten as the duo did their job.

Time slipped away from Severa as she enjoyed her time with the seahorses and showing Corrie the way around the exhibit. Corrie’s knowledge was surprisingly limited when it came to these underwater creatures except that they were hard to keep in captivity because seahorses were known to be incredibly sensitive. That started a whole new conversation between Severa and Corrie that carried until they were finished with the uptake of the exhibit.

“So is there a reason why the males give birth and not the females?”

“I don’t believe there is a solid reason discovered yet? I do know of some theori-”

“What are they?”

Severa laughed clearly amused by the girl’s eagerness and responded. “For their survival or to share the load of the birth.”

Corrie stared at the trainer as Severa watched the girl’s eyes squint in utter confusion which caused Severa to snort. “What does that mean?” Corrie finally asked.

Severa took a breath before responding, trying to find a way to explain it. “Okay, for the survival theory, it’s more of “more babies” equals “more chance of survival”. The male takes the eggs to hatch, so the female can have more time to make new ones and they can repeat the process sooner.” Severa paused to let Corrie grasp the explanation before moving on. She only did so when Corrie nodded for her to continue. “And to share the load is… exactly that. It takes a female seahorse immense amounts of energy to create the eggs and give them nutrients to let them mature. It takes a load off the father when she does that since all he has to do is house them and give them a safe and controlled environment to grow. They share the load of children, but there’s also the fact that when the seahorses are born they are on their own.”

Corrie nodded and let the new information sink in. “That’s really interesting…are those the only theories?”

“The only ones I’m aware of, but if you’re still curious go do research for yourself. Perhaps you’ll find something new to teach me.” Severa smiled warmly at her trainee who returned it, proudly. Corrie rocked back and forth on her feet as she spoke out. “Hey, what time is it?”

Severa proceeded to pull out her phone and checked the time. Corrie was forced to leave her cell in her locker most days since the girl had a _slight_ tendency to get engulfed in her phone games. Severa had to stop herself from nearly dropping the device. “Nearly 2… shift’s over.”

“Oh...” Corrie didn’t sound too happy by the news, but spoke again with her usual chipper tone. “Any other interesting tidbits about Chester worth sharing~?”

“At random times he would burst into song.” Severa replied almost instantly. This seemed to startle Corrie since she made a confused noise. Severa and Corrie decided to return to the locker room since it was nearly time to clock out, while Severa continued to explain her bird’s strange behavior. Severa told the girl the bird had picked up singing from his previous owner and said owner was known to sing rock songs constantly. Chester would just repeat what he’s heard from his owner and copy his owner’s habits. Birds were known to do this. Severa revealed his favorite song to sing wasn’t really a song, but a line -  ‘Let the bodies hit the floor’ which was from an alternative metal song called Bodies by Drowning Pool.

Corrie began laughing when Severa told her the story about how once Chester straight up screamed the line. It sounded like nails on chalkboard. The bird might’ve been blessed in looks, but he sure as hell wasn’t in his vocals. The good atmosphere around the duo lasted until they went separate ways after clocking out. Severa didn’t want it to end.

* * *

 

Severa made it home with ease, but the nagging feeling was still there. As she got closer to her apartment the feeling she’d been ignoring was slowly making its presence known. It refused to be ignored by the young adult any longer, but Severa… didn’t feel as bad as before. The entire way home she was lost in thought about how to go about her.. problem(?). Should she tell them her bedroom is off limits? _No_ , she couldn’t come up with a good reason for that. Talk to them about it? … Ha, _funny_. She could- perhaps- wait. It can wait.

Severa sighed as she dug out the keys from her bag and silently made her way inside. It was late. She was tired. All this could wait some more. She shut the door as quietly as she could and locked it before turning around. Her apartment was dark and still. From her view at the door, the street lights below were shining through the window, giving the area an otherworldly feel. The shadows from her furniture seemed to stretch great lengths down the flooring as if to reach out.

Most would find the scene off-putting, but Severa always found it soothing; similar to the sensation she got around the aquarium. Her mind might be filling with its own worries and woes, but these feelings all seemed far away as she stood there. She let out a soft sigh before moving and placing her tote in the usual place. She took off her shoes,placed them on one of the table’s chairs, and proceeded to the living room. She noticed the plush fort remained on her couch and _hoped_ to find the bitties in it. She knew she wouldn’t be sleeping if they weren’t.

She was able to smile softly in relief at the sight before her. Pap and Blue were sound asleep snuggled against… her shark plush? Severa moved a bit closer and saw it _was_ one of her stuffed animals. More so, it was one of her favorite ones of the collection. A plush shark she’d had for so long it’s once light grey material turned darker in color. Even the white under-belly was darkened from age and the structure showed more than a few patch jobs along its seams. It was a true icon of a well-used beloved stuff animal. How did they get that? Severa’s first instinct is to just take it from them, but if she did, she would no doubt wake them. The toy was set on its stomach, fins spread out with each bitty using it as a blanket of sorts as they clutched the thing pressing themselves against it.

Eventually, Severa conceded and let the bitties keep it. She had a feeling August had something to do with it, but why would he give them her plush toy? How did he even find it? There were too many questions for Severa to answer in a short time. It could wait. She was tired. So without another thought, she went to her room to get ready for bed. After changing into something comfortable, she slipped into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash off her make-up. She was never one for cosmetics, but Severa would admit she liked concealer for her dark circles. It stopped people’s random comments and inquiries about her sleep schedule. News flash - she didn’t have one. She finished washing her face when she noticed the orange bottle resting near the sink. Right. Medication. It’d been a while since she took it. She grabbed the bottle and took a pill from the bottle and washed it down with water using her hands as a makeshift cup. After, she went to bed and soon fell into a restful sleep.

* * *

Severa slowly opened her eyes due to the light shining through the window in her bedroom. She rolled over to crush her face into one of the pillows trying to block out the sun and groaned loudly. She didn’t wanna get up. She never wanted to get up though. She jerked, however, when she heard a voice call out.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN SEVERA?”

Oh, right… the bitties. Severa grumbled a bit, but decided the best course of action was to just get up. So, of course, she just laid there in silence. She only moved when she felt the side of the bed sink in. Someone was _on_ her bed. It was only a moment before she figured out who.

“Miss Severa, Are You Alright?” Blue asked with clear concern dripping from his tone. Severa only nodded before turning her head to look at the baby blue who was now standing next to her head. His face matched his voice.

“It’s just.. Morning. What’s up?”

“What’s... _Up_..?” Blue blinked confused before turning his eyelights upward. “... The Ceiling?”

It went silent for a few moments as Severa just stared at the bitty. Blue returned the stare until it’s cut when Severa shoved her head back into the pillow and laughter is heard.

“What??” Blue questioned in alarm. “Why Are You Laughing??”

Severa just laughed harder, but had to move her head causing her voice to echo through the room. It caught Pap’s attention and he spoke out, inquiring about Severa’s laughter. This began a back and forth between the bitties, full of confusion and worry. It isn’t until Severa’s laughter finally faded that she moved to sit up with a grin. Her movements stopped the duo’s conversation and she spoke.

“You are too funny sometimes, Blue.”

Blue’s skull flushed at the comment and he returned Severa’s grin. “Thank You?? You Are Alright Then?”

“Yeah.” Severa answered. She did a few stretches as she sat in bed before rephrasing her question to the bitty. “What are you and Pap up to this morning?”

Blue observed her actions while he replied that Pap and him were watching the television. Severa gave him a confused look that had the bitty launching into his entire day yesterday. During the exchange, Pap made his way into the room somehow and onto Severa’s bed. She didn’t notice until he spoke out to add things to Blue’s explanation. It was then that Severa felt a sudden urge to get up, so she did and asked the boys to return back to the living room while she got ready. She would listen to the rest in a bit. The bitties did as they were ask apparently since all Severa did was turn slightly and next thing, they were gone from the room. That puzzled her. How did they move so quick? She should ask them.

She pushed the thought aside and got ready for the day. She had stuff to do before heading to her work shift at 1. Oh, she also had to tell the bitties about that. She should also tell them her plans for Saturday, so they aren’t spooked when Avery and the firefly arrive. While she thought, Severa moved to her dresser to pull out an outfit to wear.

Severa had a wide variety of clothing because Abigail made sure of it when she dragged Severa shopping with her. Severa never minded since she enjoyed spending time with her friend, but spending passing hours just running from store to store wore her down. Abby always had tricks for getting her way; she knew how Severa worked. Severa always endured the event in silence… mostly. The thing was Severa also knew how Abigail worked and would grab certain clothing just to get a reaction from the brunette. Nonetheless, Severa always liked the things she would pick out for herself and got them much to her friend’s dismay, but Severa knew Abby wouldn’t do anything about it.

Severa finally picked out an outfit she liked that would also be fine in the high temperatures. It was a simple white undershirt matched with a grey tank top that had ‘ **my blood type is coffee’** written across it and a pair of black shorts. She would wear her black boots and a new pair of white socks. She needed to do laundry at some point too. Perhaps after work? She wasn’t scheduled to there for long today. She moved to the bathroom to take a quick shower and toss on her outfit afterward.

When she was finally ready, Severa walked to the living room to see if the bitties were there. They were leaning over the fort staring at the television that was showing an animation of sorts. Severa knew she wasn’t familiar with it, but it certainly held the small monsters’ attention well. She let them watch it deciding to make breakfast when she realised she didn’t have her phone. She returned to her bedroom and grabbed it off the charger, checking the time in the process. The time showed nearly 9 AM which surprised Severa. She thought she wasn’t gonna wake up until 10 at the earliest and have to rush to work. She’s had to do that before… she remembered the earful from Velma vividly. She returned to the kitchen and went to rummage around.

The noise she made seemed to alert the bitties of her presence and she heard Pap call out to her. She continued her actions, but made a noise of acknowledgement to them.

“What Is This?”

Severa turned her attention to the bitties then noticed Pap pointing to the television. She moved toward them while looking at the electronic. She guessed he was referring to the show. If that was true, she couldn’t give much of an answer for it. What she saw was a girl on screen in a frilly pink outfit. Why did she have a wand? And were those cat ears? Oh, wait. “... This is some sort of anime, isn’t it?”

“Anime? What Is Anime?” Pap looked to Severa in question. Blue continued to stare at the screen in confusion.

“Something Abby would know.”

“So We Should Ask The Abby Of Showbiz Expertise?” Pap asked and grinned when Severa nodded in response. “I See! This Abby Is Also An Anime Expertise Too!”

Severa just grinned and told the bitty, “The proper term is weeaboo.” She returned to the kitchen as she heard Pap thank her for the information. She had her back to them, but she could feel the grin pull at the ends of her mouth. Oh, Abby was going to be _mad_ , but it was so worth it. After rummage for a bit longer, Severa found instant cinnamon rolls in the freezer with a note attached that had **'You have nothing'**.

It was August’s handwriting. Severa laughed at the note and decided to make the cinnamon rolls and invite August up for breakfast with her and the bitties.

While Severa got breakfast ready, the bitties were now concentrating on her rather than the show. It wasn’t unsurprising because the anime(?) was strange and they most likely lost interest in it from being introduced in the middle of the season. They didn’t know the plot line(if it even had one). Besides, Severa had an inkling that Pap and Blue might be interested in cooking. Time passed in mostly silence, except for the background noise, and Severa was presently putting the cinnamon rolls into the oven to cook. At one point, she had to pry the cinnamon rolls out of the tube since the seal hadn’t broken when she removed its paper cover. When it popped, it startled her, but she hoped the bitties hadn’t heard. Once they were in the oven, Severa turned around and ended up jumping a bit from surprise. The duo were now sitting on the table watching her. Okay, that was _it_. How did they get up there?

“How?” Severa spoke out.

The bitties looked at one another with Blue shrugging. They were both confused. Pap asked Severa what she meant.

“The moving- How did you get on the table before? And _now_? And just a moment ago, my bed! How do you get from one place to another so quickly when you two are so… small?!”

“Oh! Um- Just-” Blue looked lost at how to explain it then gets an idea, if his bright expression is anything to go by. “How About We Show You?”

The girl blinked then nodded in agreement which caused the bitties to get excited. It made her more curious.

Now, Severa’s understanding of magic is limited except for the basics that are given out in schools now a days and when the monsters first resurfaced. Monsters are made from magic and use it in battle. Each monster has a different soul color of 7 colors possible… she thought and each color has different effects. Anything past that, Severa doesn’t know of, so when Blue suddenly vanished in a flash of dark blue to reappear on her counter Severa had to hold back a noise. She was in shock for a few moments until she was able to speak.

“You can teleport?!” she nearly screamed anyway.

Blue grinned with a flush to his cheekbones in pride.

“Human Severa!” Pap called out making Severa look back to the table to see what he wanted. She found him gone; nearly screaming internally, she heard a ‘Up Here!’, so she looked and this time _did_ scream in surprise. Pap’s body was surrounded by a dark blue color and **floating** in the air.

“Oh… my god, you two…” Severa covered her mouth in amazement, but worry etched into her expression. “Are you alright up there, Pap?”

“Nyeheheheh! Of Course! I Do This All The Time!” The pride was oozing from Pap’s tone, but also was able to reassure Severa. These two never ceased to amaze her.

“... So that’s how you two got around.” Severa looked between Bue on the counter and Pap levitating in the air. “I didn’t know bitties could that.”

“There Were Some Who Could And Others Could Not.” Blue answered. “We Are Amazing, Right?!”

Severa laughed softly, letting her hand drop. “Definitely. You two are.” Severa thought for a moment before asking. “Is that how you got the books down?” Severa watched as Pap eased back down to the table and Blue flashed back from the counter.

“We Just Used Our Magic To Get Them Down, Though Blue Did Go Up and Check What The Inside Looked Like Beforehand!” The Pappy explained. Then his demeanor dropped. “Was... That Alright?”

“What? The books?” Pap nodded in response.

“Oh yeah, it’s cool. You make less of a mess than my sister does when she’s over.”

“Luce!”

Severa giggled. “Her name’s actually Lucia, but I call her Luce.”

Blue and Pap nodded at the new info. Then ask a question that unnerved her. “Does She Enjoy Wordplay Like You?”

Severa blinked owlishly. How did… they know that? Did they guess? She opened her mouth to respond when the timer went off from the stove, startling the three of them. Severa went over to the oven and checked the cinnamon rolls after silencing the blasting alarm. She decided they were done and pulled them out after searching for an oven mitt. She then got to work dressing the treat with the icing and the smell of it overtook the area making Severa’s mouth water. Ah, she loved cinnamon rolls. There wasn’t a lot of food she didn’t like now she thought about it. Severa shrugged off the thought and focused back on the food, proceeding to tell the small skeletons it needed to cool for a bit.

She moved to lean against the counter while shooting a text to August telling him there was free food if he wanted it. She returned her phone to her pocket and remembered the question from the bitties. She sighed internally, but gave them her attention along with a nod. “Yeah, She does.”

The bitties grew visibly happier with her answer and Pap opened his mouth, but Severa cut him off.

“I have work again today.” Severa watched their expression falter.

“Again? How Often Do You Work?”

“My schedule right now is Tuesday through Saturday, technically.” The bitties looked lost and Severa understood pretty quickly they didn’t understand what she meant. She pulled out her phone and opened the calendar app. She knew just what to do to fix their confusion.

“There are 7 days in a week- each day has a name that starts with Sunday.” she pointed to the SU on the calendar to show the bitties. “And the rest go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and finally, Saturday. The week begins a new on Sunday.”

Blue placed his hands on his hips. “Alright! That Makes Sense!”

“One Question!” Pap asked with his hand raised.

“Shoot.”

“What Is A ‘Week’?”

Severa snorted then went on to explain what a week was, which turned into a basic time lesson of how to read a clock, what the month was and were, and various other things related. During the discussion, Severa served herself and the bitties their breakfast. The bitties did manage to make a mess of it, but were engrossed with learning just as much as eating. Severa felt a kind of warmth she hadn’t in a while, it reminded her of when she helped Lucia with her school work years ago. “Do you guys get it now?”

“Yes!” the duo said in unison.

Severa smiled and finished off her roll before she spoke. “Cool, but back to before, I won’t be gone long today for that at least.”

“What Do You Mean?”

“I need to go grocery shopping today before work.”

“Can We Go With You?!” Not a second short, but before Severa could reply the door opened.

It was August and he slid right in without a care, but he did call out. “Go where?”

“Shopping with Severa!”

“Oh?” August grinned in amusement while he made his way to the cinnamon rolls to get himself some. “That’s a good idea.”

Severa sent August a look that he returned with one of his own. His grin was gone though and Severa knew what it meant. She searched his face just to groan out loud. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Nope.” August shook his head and took a bite of the treat. He made a noise of enjoyment then moved to sit down at the table, grabbing Severa’s old plate to use. Severa dropped her head on the table after he did so.

“What Is Wrong?”

August answered the bitties when his mouth was empty. “The furry bastard got out again, so it’d be unsafe for you two to stay here alone. Who knows what he’d do.”

The bitties grew stiff at the news and Pap looked to Severa for confirmation, but Severa turned her head away. It was all they needed to know apparently as Severa heard shuffling and she moved her head a bit to see the bitties moving closer to her. She ignored the uneasy feeling bubbling in her stomach reasoning with herself they were rightfully worried (possibly terrified) of the ferret news. So it looked like she was taking them with her after all.

* * *

 

It was about 10 when Severa was out the door with the bitties in the same tote they first came in, waiting to cross the street. After some more talking with August, Severa decided the bitties needed a change of clothes. So after breakfast, she got it for them and while they got changed, she grabbed her tote to check its contents. She wanted to make sure she had everything in there because once she left her wallet back home and only realised after she was at the store. Never again.

She put on her shoes after she found everything in place just in time to hear  August whistle. He also complimented the bitties. She looked toward the trio and smiled. Pap and Blue _did_ look good. They were wearing the firefly’s custom made clothing and not one of their own, so Severa could agree they looked sharp, but something about it just seemed… off.

Pap was wearing a light red turtleneck and a pair of black dress pants that were a little too short on the legs, but he was able to cover his boney feet with black socks. Pap was also sporting his scarf with pride. Blue on the other hand was in clothing too _big_ , obviously by the dark blue shirt showing his collarbones. He hide those with his bandanna easily, but what wasn’t easy were the pants. They were just too big. Severa found it funny. He had a pair of grey socks under them, but it didn’t matter much because the pants definitely covered his feet. Severa observed the only part of those outfits that fit the bitties were their signature items around their necks - Pap’s scarf and Blue’s bandanna.

After that, they both decided to go into her tote and out the door they went with August in tow which led to where they were now - standing at a crosswalk.

Severa’s bag was opened, so the bitties could poke their heads out whenever or to simply communicate with Severa. While August had suggested riding on her shoulders, Severa shut that idea down real quick. It was too dangerous for them to do that. Blue and Pap seemed shaky on the idea as well, so tote bag it was. “Are you guys okay in there?” Severa asked softly. She heard a confirmation come from the bag just as the light changed to walk. The entire way to the garage was pretty silent, but it wasn’t a long one thankfully. The parking garage for the complex was directly across from said complex, so it was pretty easy to get to if you jaywalked, but Severa didn’t want to die.

She walked across the street listening to the hustle and bustle of the area around them. They were in the downtown area, so it was pretty busy and noisy. The way to her car was interesting in a way. The bitties would peak out from time to time examining their surroundings then retreating back into Severa’s tote to ask questions about everything from the echoes bouncing all over the parking garage to the smells and sounds outside. Severa found it amusing and endearing that they were so curious about everything and answered the questions she could.

“SO A CAR IS JUST A THING TO MOVE AROUND WITH?” Blue summarized.

Pap and him were looking around the area. Severa had entered the garage and was making her way inside. It appeared they were using their normal volumes right now. It made sense since the three of them were outside.

“Basically.”

“AND WE GET TO RIDE IN ONE?”

“Yep, as soon as I find it.”

“....FIND IT?”

Severa didn’t answer the bitty as she took out her car keys, making her way up a flight of stairs. Her car was on the second floor of the garage like many other residents’ were. Her steps were echoing off the walls with each movement on the concrete and other voices were drifting in the air from the upper floors of the stairwell. She pushed the metal door open when she arrived at the 2nd floor door and made sure her tote bag was out of the way to keep the bitties safe. She had to be careful since they weren’t _that_ protected in her bag.

Once she made it on the second floor, she pressed a button on her keys that made her car light up and make a noise. She grinned and made her way over to the vehicle. Severa’s car was one of medium-sized with a blue finish to its body and black leather seating. It is big enough to fit five people comfortably and had a decent size trunk even if it had the stuff packed in that her parents insisted she kept in there. She did a quick scan of the car to see if it had any new dents or nicks which there were not, but some of the tires were low. She might need to put air in them while she was out if she remembered. She shrugged and got inside the car and placed her tote on the passenger seat, telling the bitties they were more than welcome to get out and stare out the window. The bitties did just that and the entire ride was the bitties commentary on the surroundings. It just as interesting as the walk to the garage. Perhaps even more so...

* * *

 

The small journey around the grocery store would be the same if not for the fact that the bitties seemed… persistent in staying in Severa’s bag and out of sight of the other customers. Severa didn’t blame them though since as soon as Blue and Pap popped their heads out, they were spotted by a small child who practically screamed when she saw them. They were tugging at their parent to “look at the bitties! I wanna see the bitties!” and Severa left before the parent could react. It only got worse as more people would glance at them or out right stare at the duo in a variety of good and bad ways. Yeah, Severa didn’t blame them for hiding.

It was like that for most of the trip until Severa got to the cereal. She was too short to reach her favorite brand. “Well, crap…”

“What Is Wrong, Severa?” Blue whispered from the bag. A while ago, the duo realized they could speak with Severa as long as they were quiet. That was difficult for them, but they were managing quite well.

“I can’t reach something.”

“What?” Blue asked popping his head up from the bag to see what was causing trouble for the human.

Severa pointed to a large white box on the top shelf. “It’s the white one on the top shelf. I’m too shor-” Before Severa could finish, Blue teleported up to the top shelf next to the box.

“This One?”

Severa blinked several times in surprise then nodded. Blue pushed the box down and was thanked by Severa, causing him to flush. It caught the attention of Pap who requested he got to help next. That’s how the bitties began helping Severa do her shopping by getting things from high shelves for her. Pap had just gotten a few cans of mushroom for Severa. She was scrolling through her phone and mentioning how she should look at the eggs next when Pap made a small noise.

“Oh, _bitties_! How cute!”

Severa’s head snapped in the direction of the new voice seeing a middle age woman standing nearby gazing into the cart- staring at Pap and Blue. Oh, Pap must’ve got back into the bag. Blue probably helped him. She’d seen them work together before. Severa shot them a quick glance and noticed how stiff they turned by the strange woman’s appearance. Blue’s eyelights were nearly gone and Pap seemed to shrink in place. Oh no. “... Can I help you?” Severa shot to the woman trying to get her attention off the bitties.

The woman smiled at the bitties and cooed at them before turning to Severa. “Actually yes! I’ve been thinking about getting one~”

“Ma’am, I-” Severa was cut off by the woman continuing on.

“Tell me all about them, please. How well behaved are they?”

“Well they-”

“I have two boys you know, dear. They are enough of a handful, if I have to watch another one I might just snap! Oh, and what about messes? Can they be trained?”

“What-”

“I can’t have a messy bitty. I hate messes, deary. Just hate them! I have to clean up after my own two boys enough.”

“I didn’t ask-”

“Wasn’t there a bitty type that is known to be destructive? No, no, no! That won’t do at all. I-”

“Ma’am!” Severa finally cuts her off, making the woman frown.

“It is rude to interrupt someone, dear.”

Severa swallowed her irritation, choosing to ignore her hypocrisy, and addressed the woman. “I am not familiar with bitties, ma’am. It would be best to ask these questions to someone who knows more about them like Mama Cry at her adoption center. I’m positive she could help you find the right bitty for your family.”

The woman sighed heavily. “They will just say anything to sell their pets, deary. I feel better hearing from actu-”

Whatever else the woman said, Severa couldn’t hear. She stared at the woman with an unreadable expression. “They are not pets, ma’am.”

“Pardon?”

“The bitties. They are _not_ pets.”

The older woman scoffed and waved Severa off while retorting. “Oh, deary. It seems to me you’ve been reading too many of those self-proclaimed ‘activists’ articles. Let me explain something to you.”

Severa certainly didn’t want to listen. So she didn’t. She moved to grab the cart and push it away, but she hadn’t gotten very far when she felt someone grab her shoulder, yanking her back.

“Excuse me! I am trying to speak with you, young lady, and you are being rather rude.”

Severa exhaled slowly, but decided not to say anything. She, instead, simply shook the woman off and tried to turn away once more. The woman was not having it when she grabbed hold of Severa’s cart, stopping it in its tracks.

“You are so rude! Deary, you shouldn’t have-”

“YOU ARE THE _RUDE_ ONE, HUMAN!” a voice blasted out from the upper basket of the cart. The two women looked into the cart to see Blue and Pap staring at the woman. Blue’s arms crossed across his ribs and he had his sockets narrowed toward the other woman. Pap was leaning forward with his hands on his hip bones staring at the other human sternly. They both were visibly upset.

“OTHER HUMAN, I INSIST YOU BE NICER TO THE HUMAN SEVERA! SHE IS VERY NICE AND HELPFUL!” Pap added on to Blue’s original comment with a hint of something Severa couldn’t tell. Was it pride? Pride for what though?

The woman turned to Severa with a disapproving look in her eye. _Oh no_. “You are not a very good owner, deary…”

Severa’s face turned hard as she began to grow irritated with the other. “Ma’am,” Severa began, trying to keep her cool. “I am not their owner. Please leave me alone.”

“... Then why do you have them, young lady?”

Severa had a strong desire to punch this woman in the face. How _dare_ she insinuate something! Severa would never do anything to _any_ bitties. Severa didn’t know what kind of expression she had on her face, but whatever it was the woman seemed to think it was best to continue speaking.

“It might be best if I -”

“Do _not_ touch them.” Severa suddenly snapped at the woman. She knew _now_ what type of expression she had, one she rarely had on her face. “They are with me on their own accord. Blue and Pap _chose_ to come along like the intelligent small monsters they are. I say again, they are not pets, ma’am. Each have their own thoughts and feelings. So now, for the final time, please **leave me alone**.” Severa didn’t let the woman get another word in as she brushed her hand off the cart then push it away with a huff. “...Now what was I going to get again?”

“...Eggs.”

“Oh, right. Thanks, Pap.” Severa missed the looks of pure amazement on the bitties as she returned to her grocery shopping. Nothing else occurred during the trip, so Severa was able to finish her shopping without another hitch, except Blue and Pap seemed even more “helpful” at every turn, which confused Severa. She really didn’t need help grabbing bread or opening the doors in the refrigerated section of the store. She shrugged it off and soon enough, they were all back in the apartment with bags everywhere.

Severa was currently trying to put things away with Blue and Pap watching her from the table. They would pick things up and give them to her. They were trying to help which Severa thought was cute. It made her smile and she thanked them for their assistance. Blue’s eyelights turned into stars again while the young woman noticed Pap’s seemed to straighten in stature. Also, the bitties flushed a deep color similar to their magic. How does _that_ work anyway? Ah, she was gaining more question she doubted she’d ever get answers to. She then remembered she could always ask Avery about it since Avery had the firefly. Oh wait, Avery was coming by tomorrow. Did she tell the bitties?

“Did I tell you guys my friend Avery is coming over tomorrow?”

The bitties looked over at her. Pap was the one who shook his head. “No. Are They Nice?”

Severa laughed at his question, nodded and sat down at the table. She placed her arms on it to speak with the bitties. “I think she bleeds kindness sometimes. She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She’s the one with the firefly.”

“Who Is That?”

“Who?”

“The Firefly!” Blue retorted getting closer to Severa. Was it just her or was he rather eager for this answer?

Wasn’t it obvious? “He’s a bitty.”

“...WHAT?!”

* * *

 

They wouldn’t believe her. For some reason the bitties wouldn’t believe Severa that the firefly was a bitty even after she explained multiple times that he _was_.

“Why it is to hard to believe?”

Blue and Pap held expressions that Severa couldn’t nail down, but it was obvious the bitties were having a difficult time accepting the truth. For what reason, she didn’t know and couldn’t understand. It was another bitty. Shouldn’t they be excited? Then it struck her. Were they worried?

“... He is like his owner, guys. Serafino is nice and patient even if he’s a little on the quiet side.” Severa moved her head down to be eye level with the small creatures and gave them what she thought was a reassuring smile.

The bitties shared a look. “...Serafino?”

“His actual name.”

Severa’s smile fell as she looked at the bitties’ dejected looks. What was wrong with them? She opened her mouth to ask, but shut her mouth. She shouldn’t press it. If they really wanted to tell her, they would.

After that, the rest of the time Severa had before her shift was uneventful. Dare she say, it was… _boring_. The bitties went back to the television, but seemed less focused than they normally were. Severa did things around the apartment she wanted to get done before she had to leave for her shift. Maybe when she got back things would be different?

* * *

 

 _Nope_.

After she returned from her usual busy shift, the bitties were even more silent than earlier. Severa ended up texting August about it and his only response was confusion as well. He was of no help, but Severa couldn’t blame him. It’s not like… she really knew the duo. She barely knew anything about them. What they liked and disliked; what they would enjoy or find boring, etc. It was all a mystery to the young woman.

She glanced over at them in the blanket fort while she folded her newly washed clothes. Severa felt the warmth radiating from them as she handled each piece of clothing. Since Prince was still at large, she had to be smart about doing the laundry. So naturally, she had August come up and sit with the bitties while she left to go do her laundry in the complex laundromat downstairs accessible from the lobby. She spend the entire time fussing over the bitties and her own feelings in inner turmoil. She was still tired and… upset over _everything_. Severa understood that very well, but what could she do about it other than swallow it like always? She just ended up sighing and trying to sort everything, which she failed at.

When she came through the door after finishing her laundry, August asked if something had happened. They just sat in the fort and… spoke amongst themselves the entire time she was gone. The only thing August noticed was the sad look they sent toward the door a few times. That piece of information worried Severa. Why would they do that…? Are they planning on leaving? If they are… she wished they would speak with her before doing so.

Severa sighed, silently and continued her task. Nothing she could do about it though, right? … Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! 
> 
> My fanfic tumblr @candlelightshadows is always open if you have questions or anything.
> 
> Next chapter - Avery's visit! Avery and the firefly finally make their appearances.


	7. The Sunshine and The Firefly - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery and the firefly visit Severa and the bitties

Severa laid in her bed with her phone held above her face as she scrolled through her social media. She had several of them, but most went unused for days on end. She mostly went on them out of boredom or to check on friends regularly and old acquaintances periodically. She had opened InstaShare to see any updates from Abigail. Her friend was always using the app more than any other since it gave her the ability to show off more of her fashion designs. Severa recalled Abby telling her she had a decent following as of late, which made Severa pleased for her friend. Her friend deserved everything she’d achieved so far. Severa hoped she would continue to steadily grow from this point on. As she rolled through her feed, she saw mostly photos of marine animals galore until she found one of a dark brunette sporting clear, round glasses on her face pointing to an older lady giving the brunette a disapproving look. Severa read the description of the photo and laughed through her teeth. It read: **‘Abigail wasn’t very fond of our boss’ choice of color scheme for the new advertisement at the new store. Photo taken as Abigail gave her opinion on said choice. Again. Our boss was not having Abigail’s sass today.’** Well, that was Abby for you. If she didn’t like something she was the type to speak about it, especially if it was something she was passionate about. She was the type to always keep moving to get where she wanted to be. Severa always admired that trait in her friend, although she’d never admit that.

Severa scrolled down a bit more to see Abigail posted the advertisement to the account. Now, she didn’t know much about advertisement science, but she could understand Abby’s… anger about the color scheme. It was all _neon_ colors which just made Severa’s eyes hurt. She had to quickly scroll away from the photo. She did manage to catch her friend’s description below the photo though: **‘I get it was designed with a certain person, but does it have to be burning for the eyes?! There are better colors than this!’** Severa had to agree with her, but you could also say that she was being biased. Severa wasn’t one for neon colors and Abigail was just mad about the color scheme, not the advertisement itself. Severa had no doubt she would be hearing about her friend’s distaste for the ad at some point. She viewed the upload date and saw it was just today, so there was a high chance she would hear about it within the next 24 hours. With that thought, she glanced at the time and locked her phone noticing it was after seven. She needed to get up, but that would involve seeing the bitties. She sighed, heavily.

Severa was at a loss. The bitties were being quiet. There were several times Severa forgot they were there because all they did was stay in the plush fort. Yesterday, she tried to get a conversation going between her and the bitties while they had dinner (the bitties had _insisted_ they eat in the fort) and only spoke when Severa directed a question to them. It was worrisome. Severa understood that she wasn’t there a lot of the time, but with the way they were behaving before, she thought that might not have mattered. Perhaps, they even understood she wasn’t doing it on purpose, but Severa seemed to be wrong. They were acting withdrawn from everything if you compare it to the past few days. Now, Severa hadn’t know them for long and she barely knew them due to their short interactions, but she could say they seemed to be positive, curious creatures who loved talking and learning. Their sudden silence was concerning and their behavior change was unnerving to Severa. It was a quick 180, one that Severa doesn’t know how to change. Severa forced down the uneasy feeling bubbling as she stopped her current train of thought. It was too early for this. She still didn’t want to get up, but she also needed to get ready for work. She _desperately_ wanted a shower.

Severa rolled out of bed, deciding to just brood in the water. She quickly made her way to gather her work clothes that consisted of her blue-collared aquarium shirt, a pair of black pants, and black socks with her usual black boots. It was the same thing for the most part every time, but Severa wouldn’t complain. It was easy to remember. Her shoes were by the door, so she wouldn’t worry about them until she had to leave. She made her way out of the room and paused. It was silent. The television wasn’t on. There was no chattering. Nothing. Why was there no noise? Why weren’t the bitties making noise?! Severa dropped her clothes in the middle of the floor before she walked to the couch. The bitties _had_ to be there.

She was right. Severa reached the couch and saw the duo curled with her plush shark again. Right, she never removed the stuffed animal. She observed them momentarily. It’d been a while since she got a good look at them. Their bones were definitely whiter than when she first encountered them, but that’s all she could say. That... was all she knew. Severa sighed, silently. Why did that thought make her feel so… disappointed? They weren’t obligated to tell her anything about themselves and visa versa.. All she was doing was housing them until they were better, so they could go somewhere more appropriate. Although, if she were more honest to them, it was probably more of a self-appeasing move than anything. She couldn’t live with herself if something happened to them when they were in such a horrible state in front of her. The admission just made her feel worse. Today was going _great_ so far. She turned away from the bitties, returning back to the bathroom to shower. She picked up her discarded clothing before entering the bathroom.

The entire time Severa was showering, her thoughts were occupied by the bitties. She swore ever since they appeared in her apartment they would always be on her mind. It was rather inconvenient. She had many other things to worry about, but the bitties remained on the forefront of her mind, especially when she was away. Why? They weren’t going to stay. They couldn’t stay. The arrangement was temporary. She thought about it a bit more as she let the water rain down. They had been in her apartment for a while. While they stayed, she tried to make sure they were treated and cared for well. Again, though, it’s not like she was there for most of that time. There was also the time with Prince… She was constantly worrying about them. _Why?_ What was she so worried about? It’s not like they could just lea- She stopped the thought. They _could_ leave. With Blue’s teleporting abilities and Pap’s floating skill, they could very _easily_ leave. The thought made Severa’s uneasy. She stared up at the shower head before turning her thoughts away. She should finish the shower.

Severa ran a rag over the fogged up mirror of her bathroom to get a clear view of herself. She gave a dry laugh seeing her reflection. “Oh, I look terrible.” Her black hair was dripping wet from her recent shower and the hot water she used gave her peach skin a reddish tint. Severa moved a bit closer to the mirror, now angled over the sink a bit, she traced the dark shadows under her eyes. “Huh.” They were worse. Abby mentioned before that the darkness under Severa’s eyes always made her teal-colored eyes stand out in a strange way. Whether it was good or bad was a person’s opinion, one opinion Severa didn’t care to know. Right now, Severa thought her friend was probably right, but that didn’t make her happy about it. She looked dead. The thought made her snicker. “Perhaps Blue and Pap looked more alive than me…I wonder if I could gain a raccoon look.” She snickered again as she moved from the mirror to dry her hair and get dressed.

The shower and getting ready for the day only took about 45 minutes even with Severa’s slight detour to examine her improving raccoon look. Her next aim was breakfast. She went grocery shopping yesterday, so she had more options this time around. She decided yesterday that she would make french toast. It was something she hadn’t had in a while. French toast was a treat she made with her mom when she was younger on weekends sometimes. It was one of  her dad’s favorite breakfast foods. Whenever they made it, her dad would get this giant grin on his face that Severa worried it might get stuck that way perpetually(although she wouldn’t complain if he did). Then her father would insist on making some other food to go along with it and end up roping Severa into it(she always enjoyed it though). There was never a real dull moment with her parents, that is for sure. Severa smiled at the memories as she pulled out the ingredients to make her chosen breakfast. She had completed the process so often and for so long, she could do it with her eyes closed, not that she ever would. That is a dangerous idea and that would be the one time she would set the house on fire, guaranteed.

With everything out, she placed her phone to the side and began to make the food. The process was pretty silent except for the noises Severa was making from creating the french toast. It didn’t take as long as she thought it would, but looking at the finished product, she knew it lacked something. She just didn’t know what. Back to the fridge to figure it out. She opened the fridge and gazed around trying to find something. She succeeded when her eyes connected with containers filled with strawberries and blueberries. The bitties liked those! She quickly grabbed the items from the fridge and closed the door with her side before returning to the table. She placed the fruit to the side then went to grab a knife. She would need to cut the strawberries for Pap, but the blueberries were a fine size for Blue. She snickered to herself thinking about Blue’s original reaction to said fruit. Maybe she could get it again?

The happy feeling subsided when she remembered the present situation. The bitties were being distant. Severa let out a quick sigh from the reminder. She shouldn’t be getting so happy about it anyway. She needed to remember this setup wasn’t permanent. It was never meant to be forever. In that case, this might be a blessing in disguise in the long run. She reasoned with herself on that line of thought as she added the fruit to the bitties’ respective plates. She also decided to add powdered sugar at the last second along with the usual syrup. Finally, she was satisfied with the presentation, but the feeling of pride was short-lived. Severa glanced at her phone then shouted. “FUCK!”

Oh god. She was _late_ . It was past 8:50 and she needed to be at work at 9. She was so going to be chewed out by Velma. Today was going fantastic! She needed to leave _now_ … well, after checking on the bitties. She wanted to tell them about breakfast since they needed to eat.

Severa was turning when there was a sudden pressure in her chest. It only increased in weight until she had to grab the table to steady herself. The pressure was so bad it felt difficult to breathe. What was going on? She tried to turn her head, but she found it impossible. She couldn’t move. _Why_? Why couldn’t she move?! Worry began to build in her stomach. What was going on? What was happening?! She couldn’t move- it was hard to breath-

All at once, the weight was gone and she could breath. What the fuck just happened?! Severa was lost for words. It was so quick to start and to fade. She let go of the table then moved her head to check if she was mobile. She was. In response, she straightened her back and quickly turned in the direction of the bitties. She should check on them _now._ She moved to the living room and to the fort, but she didn’t have to move far. The bitties were now wide awake and standing on the table with hard expressions. Their postures were stiff which worried Severa. Did they feel the weird sensation like her? “... Are you two alright?”

The bitties just stared at her in silence. They seemed frozen, stuck where they stood. Blue’s eyelights were gone. It was a tad unnerving, but Severa needed to focus. She knew this, but Pap wasn’t looking much better. His sockets were large and hallow. It was… weird. Severa didn’t know what to do. She was waiting for anything from the two when her phone suddenly went off. It was nine o’clock.

“Oh, come on!” Severa shouted. Then it clicked.

She shouted earlier too. She turned her attention to the duo and apologized profusely for startling them. She was late and she wasn’t thinking. She didn’t wait for a response though before she told them about the breakfast on the table. Severa went back to the kitchen to grab her phone, bag, shoes then was out the door. Oh, she was most _definitely_ going to be chewed out.

* * *

Severa was about half an hour late for the start of her shift and boy, was she right. As soon as Velma caught her, she got chewed out for being late. It was Saturday. The one day of the week Severa really shouldn’t be late.

There wasn’t much Severa could do to calm her angry boss. Severa was rarely late- it was a once in a blue moon type of thing and Velma seemed angrier than she should’ve been for Severa being late. Velma must be stressed about something. Severa let it go on that thought. Her boss seemed to be having a tough time. She wondered what was going on there. Velma left Severa to begin her shift.

Yep, _fantastic_ day.

* * *

Severa didn’t know what was going on today. Everything seemed to be going crazy. First, there was Severa being late and getting chewed out by her (obviously stressed) boss. Then, it was discovered that there were more errors in shipment orders. Some of which had to be completely re-ordered and the materials they had received were unusable. There was also an infestation in one of the large aquarium tanks- one of the researcher’s… research was a complete bust and _something_ happened to Velma. Severa heard her boss’ screaming down one of the back hallways. The young woman couldn’t make out anything the older one was saying, but from her tone, it surely wasn’t good.

Everyone at her work was feeling the stress of the day’s events by the end of Severa’s shift. She felt tired and the thought of returning to the bitties after such a bad morning made it worse. She can’t believe she startled them. No wonder they looked so horrified. Severa was brought out of her guilt trip when she heard her phone go off. She was currently in the locker room getting ready to leave when it went off. She pulled it out of her pocket and she felt a bright grin spread over her face. She quickly answered it.

“Avery!”

“ _Ciao, Sev_!” Avery’s voice came through the phone’s speaker clearly. Severa could already feel the warmth of hearing her friend’s smooth voice filling her chest.

“I’m currently in the locker room.”

“ _Ah, so you are just about to leave I take it?_ ”

“Yep.” Severa shut the metal door then, with her phone to her ear, made her way out. “So what’s up?”

“ _I was wondering if you had lunch yet. The cooks are making meals for you and I.”_

“I have not, but even if I had, I would never turn down your restaurant's food. Come on.” Severa answered while she made her way out of the building toward the bus stop. Talking to Avery was a good distraction from her own onslaught of thoughts and worries. Then again, talking to Avery always brightened Severa’s day no matter what.

“ _True, you are one to never turn down a free meal._ ” Severa heard rustling over the phone and Avery began talking to someone else. Severa recognized it was Italian, so she was talking to one of her parents. “ _My mother says ‘hello’, Sev._ ” Avery suddenly interjected in English before reverting back to the conversation with her mother. Avery was still speaking with her mother when Severa made it to the bus stop causing her to tell Avery she would call her back. She ended the call and waited for the bus. She would call Avery as soon as she got off.

Severa was met with a loud chatter as she began scrolling through her phone messages. She shot a glance to the side to see what the noise was from and saw a pair of teens coming up to the stop. It was two girls looking at a phone and giggling. Severa returned to her phone, reading an automatic message from her cell provider about her overdue bill. Apparently, she hadn’t paid it. She should check her account later to see if she did or not. It’s very possible she did forget to pay it. It has happened on occasion. With that thought, Severa looked up from her phone to see the bus roll up to the stop. She pulled out her bus pass from her pocket and passed it through the scanner after she entered the bus. It made a ‘beep’ and the driver let her on. She moved to take a seat and resumed scrolling through her phone. She could listen to music, but she might miss the stop.

She was almost home. Severa slouched slightly in her seat thinking about her apartment and the bitties inside it. This morning… was strange and bad. She frightened the bitties. She needed to apologize for that as soon as she got home and explain herself. She didn’t mean to, but it still occurred. She hoped they ate the breakfast. Did they enjoy it? She hoped for that too. Although now that she thought about it, they might take it as a bribe. Hmm. Maybe she should make it like that? Severa was pulled from her thoughts when she heard whispering nearby.

“Oh my gosh… Look at her.”

What? Severa took a peak in the direction of the voice and noticed the two girls from before. They were both sitting across from her and a blonde with blue streaks was pointing at… Severa? Severa’s head moved upward to get a better look. The girl was speaking with her friend, so she didn’t notice Severa looking at her, thankfully. Her next line surprised Severa.

“She’s so pretty…”

Severa made eye contact with the friend and she watched as the blonde’s friend giggled, whispered, and pointed to Severa. The blonde in question spun her head and noticed Severa staring at her. It was silent and the girl was only looking horrified as she was caught red-handed. Severa didn’t really understand the expression, but nevertheless, she waved at the girl. After a few moments, the girl waved back with her face flushed with embarrassment, then hid away saying something to her friend that Severa couldn’t hear. Her friend just laughed at her.

Severa was just confused and glanced at the girl after a while, seeing she was still obviously embarrassed at being caught looking at a stranger. It wasn’t anything bad, so Severa wasn’t mad or anything. She was rather flattered. The girl was complimenting her after all. That wasn’t a bad thing. She observed as the girl had her friend move to a new area further in front of the bus. The girl must be really embarrassed to do that. There had to be a way to make the girl feel better or to show her thanks, right? Severa contemplated it for a bit while staring at her phone. After a bit more silence, the bus hit Severa’s stop and she got up with her things. She was about to leave, but halted in front of the girl from before.

“Thank you and by the way, I like your hair. It’s pretty too.” With that statement, Severa hopped off the bus and began walking away. She didn’t get very far when she heard someone shout out a loud ‘ _T-Thank you!_ ’. Severa laughed softly, but felt a warmth in her being. Okay, this day wasn’t so bad. Oh, she should call Avery now.

On that thought, she pulled out her phone and searched through her contacts. She pressed Avery’s and listened to the ringing, waiting for an answer. She walked to her complex, getting an answer after a bit.

“ _Have you made it home?_ ”

“I’m walking through the door to the lobby right now.” Severa answered with ease as she went through the doors. She noticed Joyce was sitting at the desk, so her landlady most likely unlocked the door where she sat when she saw Severa walking up. As she passed Joyce, Severa smiled at her, which was returned, then went to the stairwell.

“ _Va bene. Serafino is currently in the kitchen helping. It might be a bit before we come-_ ”

“That’s cool. You bring the food and I’ll make the desert?”

“ _Mi sembra un'ottima idea! Ah, - un momento…_ ” Severa heard Avery responding to someone. She was quick to discover it was Serafino when she heard her friend’s ‘ _il mio bitty_ ’ over the speaker which made Severa call out- ‘Hello~ firefly!’. From that, it was a moment of silence before Avery’s laughter echoed through the phone causing Severa to grin. “ _Severa! Lui è blu ora- grazie!_ ” Severa made it to her floor when Avery spoke once again. “ _Serafino vuole cuocere con te-_ ”

“Aves, I can’t understand you!”

“ _...Cosa?_ ” Avery fell silent for several moments and Severa could hear her friend whispering Italian on the other end. This caused Severa to snicker. It seemed Avery forgot how to English again.

It wasn’t until Severa opened the door to her apartment that Avery seemed to find her words, but it still was pretty broken.

“ _Serafino.... bake… you… che cosa è inglese…_ ” Avery fell silent again until it seemed to click. “ _Serafino wants to bake with you!_ ”

Severa laughed at her friend. “Are we sure English is your first language?”

“ _I fail at both, so does it really matter?_ ” Avery laughed along. This wasn’t the first time Avery blanked on a language and won’t be the last. “ _Serafino wanted you to wait and bake with him. That is what I was trying to say.”_

“Ah, gotcha.” Severa closed the door while kicking off her shoes. She placed her tote on the table and noticed the plates were not there. She moved to the sink and saw them soaking. August must’ve done it and with that, Severa turned her attention toward the living room. The apartment was still silent. Severa walked closer to the living room to see Pap retreat into the fort. She raised her eyebrow at this. “Is there anything you would want, Aves?”

“ _Apple Crisps._ ”

Severa paused in her tracks, laughing at her friend’s rapid answer. “I can make that, but you are going to need to bring the apples.” She returned to walking toward the bitties in the fort and when she did, she looked down at them with them returning the stare. There was obvious curiosity in their gaze.

“... What Are Apples?”

“ _Who was that?_ ”

“Oh, now you speak?” Severa asked toward Pap who spoke out. She was still worried something was wrong, but this was a good sign, right? “It’s a fruit similar to what the strawberries and _blue_ (“MWEH!”)berries were.” Oh, so that still worked? Severa grinned.

Pap nodded, looking over to Blue, who was putting his face into the plush shark more than likely trying to hide his flustered face. Severa did the same, but she finally answered her friend.

“A bitty.”

“ _...Come again?_ ”

“A bitty.”

“ _What?_ ”

“There are a pair of bitties in my apartment at the moment and one just asked what apples were.”

“ _You… You have bitties in_ **_your_ ** _apartment?_ ”

“Yeah.”

“ _Were you able to clone Serafino like you have been telling me?_ ”

“He’s been with you the whole time. When would I’ve been able to get him with me to do so?”

“ _I do not know, but it is_ **_you_ ** _, so he would agree to go easily._ ”

“That is your opinion.”

“ _That is fact. When I get there, we can ask him and I swear to you, he will agree to go with you for whatever reason._ ” Avery paused. “ _... I should be warning him about you more._ ”

Severa couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from her. “I-I mean I can see why! But it’s not like I would seriously do…” Severa cut herself off, thinking briefly. “...or maybe I would?”

“ _Tu es une sirène stupide._ ” Avery responded back with ease.

“Ah, you are the one who hangs out with me though.”

“ _Someone needs to be responsible of you._ ”

“Isn’t that what my parents are for?”

“ _When it comes to you, having extra help is not bad._ ”

“... That’s fair.”

On that note, Severa finished her conversation with Avery. Avery would be arriving after the meals were prepared, so it’ll be awhile before they do come. After bidding goodbye to her friend, she disconnected the call and turned to the bitties. Said bitties were staring up at Severa with expressions that Severa couldn’t figure out. “Avery and the firefly are going to be here later...” Severa trailed off, thinking to herself.  “Did you guys eat your breakfast?”

The bitties nodded at Severa in response. It was Blue though who spoke out eventually. “...You Did Not.” His tone was strange, but Severa could make out a heaviness to it.

“That’s true, I didn’t. I was running late and ended up getting something from the vending machine when I could.”

“Do You Do That A Lot?”

“What? Be late to work or skip meals?” Severa asked looking down at the Baby Blue.

Blue responded with a simple ‘both’.

Severa thought a bit before answering. “I don’t miss work all that much. I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve been late. Now, I do tend to skips meals, if not because I forget, then it’s because I’m in a rush to get somewhere. Most of the time though, I just end up forgetting about eating which is strange. If you knew me enough, you would think that it is downright impossible.”

“You Shouldn’t Do That.” Blue reprimanded her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Severa just raised her eyebrow at him in response, clearly amused, but chose not to respond any other way. That phrase is one she is very familiar with. Oh, so familiar with. She wouldn’t rebuttal the truth.

Severa left the pair to go to her room and change. She slipped into a more comfortable outfit of brown shorts and a striped tank top then deposited her used clothes into her laundry basket. Now, what to do next? It’d been a while since she really had free time, so an idea quickly emerged in her head. An idea she liked considerably.

Severa raced back into the living room to start her idea which was playing video games. Video games were something Severa liked well, but was picky about which ones she played. Her absolute favorite game of all time was the Portal series. She has hours upon hours invested in the series, more than any other she owned. Portal was a stress reliever for her, so right now was a perfect time to play it. When she got to the living room, she quickly took control of the television(with some noises from the bitties) and prepared it to use her console. Once she was done setting her console up, she turned it on and hopped back onto the couch, sitting next to the bitties’ fort.

“What Are You Doing?” Pap questioned.

Severa crossed her legs on the cushion while answering. “I am going to play Portal.”

“What Is That?”

“A puzzle-platform video game.”

“Puzzles?!”

That surely got the bitties’ attention. Severa nodded and glanced at them with a grin. “Yep. Puzzles.” The bitties appeared to be awestruck. She turned her attention back to the television. The title screen came on and Severa checked to see where she left off last. It was near the end, so she decided to start from the beginning. That is what began the next hour of the small monsters trying to solve the puzzles on screen while Severa played.  

“How Many Time Does That Make It?” Blue asked

“Three times. I always have trouble getting around this part...” Severa responded while waiting for the game to reset at her checkpoint. She didn’t make it through her portal and fell into the fire pit this time unlike before she fell into the ooze, twice. She knew her way around it, but always had the bad luck when it came to escaping her fall into fiery hell. The bitties so far were enjoying watching her play, which she was glad for since it was definitely better than the silence that decided to make its home in her apartment lately. The game began again and a robotic voice came over the speakers from the game. Severa shook her head in response to it. “Yeah, we know, GLADOS. The cake is a lie though.”

A knock echoes in her apartment just as she was about to shoot a portal. Severa’s head spun toward the door and before she can say anything, a voice came out that caused Severa to squeal in delight.

“Sirena, come open the door.”

“Avery!” Severa dropped the control and sped over to the door to swing it open. She got a full view of her dear friend at the door, Avery. Avery Rhides, Serafino’s owner and one of Severa’s closest friend, had a taller stature than Severa, being a good few inches taller. She had similar dark black hair, but unlike Severa’s, Avery’s stopped several inches above her shoulders and it was wavy, borderline curly.  Severa noticed a bag near Avery’s feet before her attention was reverted back.

Avery smiled brightly at Severa, her cyan colored eyes twinkling with warmth as she held her arms out. “Hello, Sev!” she called out to the other woman.

Severa threw herself into Avery’s grip, hugging her friend tightly shoving her face in the other woman’s shoulder. “Avery! I missed you!”

Avery returned the embrace, laughing at her friend. “Same, Sev! It’s so good to actually see you!” She tried to move away from Severa after a few minutes, but failed as Severa wouldn’t let go. “Sev~.”

Severa whined, but let go after a bit more prying from her friend. “Just let me love you.”

“You can do so when we get into your apartment. I don’t wanna stand out here.”

“But why? You’re my sunshine~”

Avery gave her a speechless look before giving a shaky laugh with a reddish tint across her cheeks. “Ah… I should be used to this…”

Severa grinned at her friend’s reaction. “But then it becomes no fun, sunshine!”

Avery laughed at the statement, nodding in agreement.

Severa turned her attention to the being on her friend’s shoulder who was waiting patiently during the duo’s exchange. Now that he had Severa’s attention, he gave her a smile and wave. She raised her hands toward him and he nodded then was grabbed by the young lady. He didn’t mind as he was hugged close to the human. “Firefly!”

Serafino returned the hug with enthusiasm as best he could. “Hello, Severa.” The bitty was a Grillbitty, but more precisely, a G. He was a small flame bitty who was soft spoken, but hugely talkative to those he liked. The same could be said about his affection habits. After he was drawn back, he motioned to be on her shoulder which Severa gladly accepted. Serafino situated himself on Severa’s shoulder before the duo looked at Avery.

Avery had a warm smile directed at them. “You two are so cute.” She let out a soft laugh before starting again. “Now that you’ve successfully taken my bitty, would you mind taking this inside so I can see the ones you’ve, apparently, allowed housing?”

Severa nodded and moved to the side to allow her friend in her apartment. “You got the food, right?”

Avery grabbed the bag beside her as she went inside. She made it to the kitchen and saw the large plush fort on Sev’s couch. “Oh, a fort! It has been years since I saw one of those. When was the last time we made one?”

“Wasn’t it when we were in high school, spending the night at my house and the power went out?” Severa responded while walking over to one of the chairs in the kitchen. “Luce came downstairs crying about it being too dark.”

“Yeah, I think so. She was young when that happened...” Avery placed the bag on the table while sitting next to her friend.

"She was 3 or 4 and scared of the dark. We made the fort to keep her happy and safe until the power came back on.”

Avery nodded at Severa’s explanation then looked back to the fort and noticed a pair of skeletons staring. She smiled at the sight and returned to Severa, opening the bag as she did so. “The apples are in here too.”

“Gimme.” Severa made a grabbing motion which made Avery laugh.

* * *

Serafino observed his owner and her friend from his perch on said friend’s shoulder. Severa was shorter than Avery, so the view the bitty had was different. He enjoyed it. He always enjoyed riding on his trusted humans’ shoulders with no fear in his soul. He spared a glance at Avery and a smile came over his features. The bitty could see _and_ feel how radiant his human’s soul was. He felt his own filling with happiness in response.

Over the past week, Serafino could only watch as his owner’s brightness dimmed. He knew what that meant. Avery was getting lonely. It was the _one_ thing that the duo made clear so long ago. While he was happy to see Severa again, he was more glad over the fact that his human was getting her warmth back. He understood why Severa called his human ‘living sunshine’ because while he was technically made of fire magic, the warmth he gave off was nothing compared to Avery’s. Humans were often scared to hold or be around him, but people were drawn to Avery. He truly enjoyed being around his human.

On the topic of his human, Avery was talking to Severa about their lives at the moment. All that Avery was retelling were things that Serafino knew already, so he focused his attention on Severa’s half. He swung his legs side to side, listening to Severa’s day to day activities and it sounded like she hasn’t done anything new besides the new additions to the apartment. The bitties.

By their magic, the Grillbitty knew there were two. Neither of which seemed too happy. Serafino looked over to the fort on the couch, catching the stare of one of the bitties. It was a skeleton bitty- a Baby Blue. Oh, dear. This might not be as quiet as he thought it would be. Baby Blues were known to be very... excitable. The ones at Mama Cry’s were always energetic to the point that just watching them tired him out. The more Serafino dwelled about it, the more he thought a Baby Blue might be a good match for Severa. The thought was cut when the other bitty emerged in Serafino’s view. The other one was a Pappy, huh?

Serafino, eventually, waved at them after a long stare off between him and the duo. The Pappy returned the wave, rather weakly. The Baby Blue remained still, but Serafino gained a glare(?) from the opposite bitty. It just confused him. What? Why was the Baby Blue glaring at him? Did… did he do something? All he was doing was sitting. Maybe they weren’t as friendly as the others were from the adoption center? After some contemplation, the small flame decided it was best to ask. If they already hated him, then it couldn’t get worse, right?

* * *

Severa laughed as Avery told her about customers she's had to serve at the restaurant. Her stories were always interesting and also funny, considering Avery's parents would end up getting involved with the worst customers. This particular story Avery was telling was about a pair of recent customers that tried to dine and dash. They were caught by Rebecca, Avery’s mother, before they could leave, had to pay for their food, apologize to their server, and got an earful lecture about honesty and other things. It was a common thing with Rebecca, but always wonderful to hear. The tales of Rebecca Rhides were always a _ride_.

“So that is the newest adventure from my side. How about you?”

Severa laughed then answered her friend. “Nothing really exciting on my end, but I’ve got something rather annoying.”

“Yeah?”

“The banshee caused me to work a double shift.”

“Banshee?”

“Keri.”

“Oh, I should have guessed. Bateson, Banshee.”

Severa stared at Avery for several moments before bursting out into giggles. “I-I didn’t even think about that!”

Avery joined in after a bit. “Seriously?! Then why do you call her banshee?”

“Because she was screeching on the phone!” Severa’s giggles down died then she pointed in the direction of the bitties. “The same day I met those two actually, was the phone call. I think the name fits her.”

Avery nodded in agreement then looked at the bitties who were looking in their direction, curiously.

Severa smiled at the duo then her attention was moved to the small creature on her shoulder. “Hmm? What’s up, firefly?” Serafino placed his hand on her cheek to grasp her attention.

“Perhaps we should eat?”

“Oh, good idea.” Avery proceeded to remove the containers of food from the bag and put them on the table. She examined the containers before scooting one of them over to Severa. “Pasta all'ortolana for the mermaid and gnocchi di ricotta for me.”

“With peppers?”

“Of course! The chefs know what you like by now, Sevy.” A pause before Avery added. “Although, that is not difficult to learn… you will eat just about anything besides seafood.”

Severa nodded in agreement then moved a bit to be in the direction of the bitties on her couch. “Hey, Pap, Blue. Want to try some italian food?”

Said bitties popped up at Severa’s voice and soon enough, Blue and Pap appeared on the table closer to Severa. Avery jumped at the sudden appearance, stared at the duo then turned her attention to Severa.

“Which one can teleport?”

“Blue.”

“... Really?”

“YES. IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT, HUMAN?” Blue japed in with his arms crossed, giving a heavy stare at Avery, but kept close to Severa. Pap ‘hid’ behind his fellow bitty and Severa’s arm as best he could.

“No? That is just rare. Baby Blues aren’t known to have that ability, right? Serafino?” Avery asked her bitty. The bitty nodded in agreement.

“So… what you’re saying is, Blue is even more magnificent than before?” Severa asked.

Avery paused, but ultimately smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”

Severa grinned, glancing down at Blue who returned her look with color splashed across his cheekbones. It took every ounce of her being to hold in an inhumane noise at the cuteness. She, instead, looked toward Serafino who remained on her shoulder. “Firefly, Avery,” Severa motioned to the bitties. “the bitties - Blue and Pap, ”

Serafino’s look down at the pair of bitties who were looking between him and his human. “... Hello.” His voice was gentle, warm and one that matched Avery’s own greeting to the bitties.

Severa watched the interaction silently, noticing how the duo were remaining concealed behind her arm. She decided not to comment, instead direct the conversation. “You two never did answer my question.”

That caused Pap to at least look at Severa, but Blue seemed keen on staring at the firefly. Severa didn’t like the look he had, but still remained silent. “Want to try Italian food?”

“What Is Italian Food?” Blue spoke up, finally turning his stare onto Severa.

“Food?”

“Sev.”

“What? You’d have a better answer. You _are_ Italian, technically.”

“My _parents_ are, mermaid.” Avery shook her head, but answered the question. “It’s a type of cuisine or food from a different region than our own. Trying some is better than explaining, honestly.”

With that, Severa raised her hand to Serafino who hopped on and was set on the table near Avery. She then moved her container of food closer to the bitties. “Here. This is pasta all’ortolana which is basically pasta with a variety of veggies. Wanna try?”

It didn’t take long for the bittes to agree.

* * *

The meal was pleasant with Avery and Severa mostly talking, but trying to get the bitties involved from time to time. Pap and Blue remained quiet, keeping close to Severa as they ate.

Serafino was doing the same, settling in between the two female humans who were laughing and enjoying themselves. The flame seemed content with eating in silence, letting the humans chat amongst themselves. He noticed his fellow bitties on the other hand, kept sending glances to his human. What they meant, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t wish to guess either. It went on like this for the rest of the meal until the food was long gone and Severa spoke out. “My turn!”

“Woo!” Avery bent down and grasp the bag she brought before. “Here are the apples.” She pulled out a bag of apples and pushed them toward her friend.

Severa grinned and moved to retrieve the bag while Serafino was climbing up her arm. “Time to make desert! Ready, firefly?”

“Always.” Serafino chimed in. He was looking forward to this obviously.

Severa made her way over to the stove and began retrieving the utisnels she will need to make apple crisps. “Serafino, do me a favor please.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yes?”

“Try to befriend Pap and Blue.”

* * *

The desert preparation went well. Serafino enjoyed baking with Severa everytime they did so. The desert itself turned out well(unsurprisingly). Serafino savored the treat with each bite, but the entire time he thought on how to go about fulfilling Severa’s request.

As of now, Serafino sat on the plush couch in the vicinity of the fort the pair of bitties had retreated to. Even though Severa had requested him to befriend the bitties she was housing, it was proving to be rather difficult. The Grillbitty tried to be as understanding as he could regarding their… situation, but even he was getting frustrated. The bitties absolutely refused to speak with him. Serafino noticed they acknowledged him from the spare glances they give him from time to time. So ultimately, he could only wait, but even he could only have so much patience.

So he sat there for some time and turned his attention to the television, seeing it was playing a familiar show. The bitty recalled the title was ‘Silent House’. Serafino remembered it was a horror show. It was the type of show his human couldn’t watch for long, unlike Severa who could watch them on repeat. She always loved horror things and made others watch them on occasion. He made it for a few minutes before he had to look away. It was a good thing because when he did, he made eye-contact with Pap. He waved at the other bitty, and after a bit, he got one in return. Well, it couldn’t hurt to try now.

“... May we talk?” Serafino requested to the bitty who looked surprised.

“About What?” Pap replied.

“Anything.”

“Why Does Severa Call You ‘Firefly’?” Blue cut in, surprising the other bitties. Serafino straightened his posture when he watched Blue climb out of the fort and stand in front of the wall. The opposite bitty’s stance was expressing something. Serafino couldn’t tell what it was, but something told him it might be the reason for the hostility of two, otherwise, friendly bitties types.

“Because it is  the nickname she gave me?”

“But WHY?” Blue growled out which caused Serafino to jump. “WHY DOES SHE HAVE CLOTHES FOR YOU?! WHY DOES SHE LET YOU SIT ON HER?! SHE TOUCHES YOU SO MUCH! WHY DOES SHE SPEAK OF YOU WITH SUCH… SUCH…”

“Affection.” Pap finished for Blue. “Why Is She So Affectionate With You?”

“AND WHY NOT US?!”

“I earned it.” The answer was simple, but quick. Serafino stared down at the fabric of the cushion, gripping at his pants. They were _jealous_ . The bitties were jealous of _him_. Ha… He found it rather funny. Never would he have thought someone else would be jealous of him again…

“...What Does That Mean?” Pap inquired. his voice sounded closer than before causing Serafino to look in their direction and, to his surprise, the bitties had moved closer to him. Blue still had his defensive posture, but he was gazing at the flame bitty in wait. He wanted an answer.

“It means what it means. I _earned_ her affection...” Serafino went quiet for sometime before continuing on. “Would it shock you two if I were to tell you when I first met Severa I was greeted with… Well, she hasn’t always treated me like that.”

“...THAT’S NOT POSSI-”

“It is.” Serafino cut in. “I will explain it, but you must understand somethings. I earned her affection… _and_ acceptance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I am NOT sorry. It wasn't supposed to end right there, but I need to divide the chapter into two parts. I am still working on the second part, but hopefully I can finish it soon enough. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it and comments, kudos are always appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> [My Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/H2H3N6V0)
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://candlelightshadows.tumblr.com)


	8. The Sunshine and The Firefly - Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the visit of the firefly and Avery.

Serafino let out a heavy sigh as he sat within the plush fort. He looked around in interest but wasn’t able to take in much as Blue grabbed at his attention.

“Explain... Please.” The baby blue pleaded with his phalanges in fists. He and the pappy sat on the opposite side of the fort, giving their full attention to the small flame.

The flame bitty nodded and collected his thoughts before beginning. “I was adopted by Avery from Mama Cry’s Bitty Adoption Center several years ago. Adoptions take a considerable amount of time so that they last.”

“Why Are You Telling Us This? This Has Noth-” Blue quickly interrupted.

“This involves Severa, do not worry.” The bitty fell silent as Serafino continued. “Frequent visits by a possible owner is necessary for the process and it was during these visits that I first saw Severa. Severa would sometimes accompany my human when Avery did show up, but Severa would never interact with the bitties. She would always watch Avery, keeping her distance but still remaining close.” Serafino recalled how some of the other bitties tried to get Severa's attention or even play with her, but she would always brush them off. Severa was never rude or mean to them, however, she made it obvious she was there for certain reasons that hadn’t involved the bitties. “That all I knew for the longest time- She was a human that must be close with a possible adopter.”

Serafino shifted in his seat. “Now, let us move forward a bit. I’m adopted by Avery and everything is wonderful. I never thought I would be adopted, but low and behold, I was. I was meeting important people to my new owner left and right. When the day came that I was to meet Severa, Avery made something clear to me: ‘Nothing is your fault’.”

“What Does That Mean?” Blue asked quickly.

“At the time, I held the same thought. I wouldn’t understand the phrase for some time until I was finally able to speak _with_ Severa.”

“We Talk To The Human All The Time!” The baby blue was getting rather irritated by his tone in the interjection.

Serafino let out a tired chuckle. “She wasn’t… always like that. In our first _true_ meeting, she ignored me.”

This shocked the duo. Serafino couldn’t blame them since he knew how Severa was acting with _them_. It was different than before and it gave him mixed feelings on the matter. “It was well within a year of being with Avery that I _finally_ made ground with Severa. And it was only because… Well, that doesn’t matter anymore.” Serafino turned the conversation. “I had a long talk with Severa and I finally learned what the line meant.”

“...Line?”

“‘ _Nothing is your fault_.’” Serafino repeated somberly. “That line wa-... was related to Severa.”

“How?” Again, only Blue was responding.

Serafino glanced toward Pap, who remained rather quiet this entire time. Was he alright? He seemed to be so the fire bitty returned his attention to the baby blue. “The line was meant for her actions. _I_ never did anything wrong.”

Blue made a noise of frustration. “What Do You Mean?”

“This Is Like A Puzzle!” Pap told in excitement. This caused Blue and Serafino to look at the taller skeleton bitty. The tall bitty threw his arms in the air in his excitement. “Is It Not!?”

Serafino chuckled a bit after some contemplation. “That is one way to put it. Avery has compared Severa to riddles on a few occasions.”

“Severa Likes Riddles!” Pap stated, confidently. 

Serafino nodded. “Oh, yes, she does. Even now, there are many parts of her I do not understand… and I have known her for several years.”

Serafino caught the two skeletons share a look. The next words of their mouths aren’t much of a surprise.

"Can You Tell Us Somethings?”

Serafino turned his gaze onto the duo. He had to _look_ at them. Their looks were ones of determination. Determination to know Severa. To understand Severa. To… Serafino couldn’t stop the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “... Of course.”

* * *

 

“...-o they came from your bag?” Avery repeated and Severa nodded in response. The duo were seated at the island, just enjoying the conversation between each other. Their plates from lunch were placed in the sink, soaking for the time being.

“Yeah, they told me they were in my bag.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t get crushed. Were they okay in there?” Avery asked with concern in her voice.

“It appeared so. If the bag did damage, it wasn’t anything compared to the abuse they suffered before.”

The older woman went quiet as she moved her gaze from Severa to the bitties speaking with her own little flame. She smiled softly seeing the smile lighting Serafino’s face. He was always so friendly with others… It made things so much easy. It fell when Severa’s words finally sank in. “Who would do such a thing?”

“Huh?”

Avery’s head snapped in Severa’s direction. “What do you mean ‘huh’?” Her expression was one of pure disbelief. “Sevy, has it ever occurred to her to question just where they came from?”

The other woman went quiet but eventually spoke. “... It’s more of a fleeting thought.” Severa looked away from her friend.

“Severa.” Avery sighed.

“You know I don’t dwell on that.”

“I know, _sirena_. You should still think about that. It is important if you want to-”

“I am not keeping them, Avery.” Severa swiftly cut her friend off. Her head snapped back and she remained eye contact with the other woman.

Avery shut her mouth with an audible click before gesturing to the creatures on the couch. “Are you kidding me, Severa? You have other people in _your_ apartment. You honestly think that means nothing?” 

“It doesn’t matter if it does. They are not staying.”

“What if that’s what they want?” Avery argued.

“Mama Cry’s Center is better.” Severa rebutted easily. "You should know that."

Avery bit back her next words. Severa didn’t hesitate on the statement. She was floored, but unsurprised. That was Severa for you. Avery let out a heavy sigh then turned the conversation. “Where could they have come from though? Should we find out?”

Severa shook her head. “I honestly don’t think so. You aren’t involved.”

“But you are?”

“No.”

“You are tiring.”

“I am tired.”

“You always are, Sevy.” Avery shook her head then returned to watching the duo. “... I think you should try to find out.”

“Av-”

“Or at least try to find something, so you can help them more. I _know_ you and want to help, Sev. You should let yourself do something more.” Avery moved her gaze to her friend with an unwavering look. “It is _okay_ to do that.”

Avery heard Severa let out a shaky breath then slowly respond. “...I’ll think about it…”

Avery smiled softly. “That is all I want, Sevy.”

Severa stared down at the table for some time before pushing off to stand up. "I'm... gonna make some hot chocolate for us."

* * *

 

"I still think she could do more.” Severa took a sip from her mug. The hot liquid warmed her throat as it went down smoothly. 

“Yeah? You always speak highly about Corrie. Is there a reason or just because?”

“She’s going to be taking over my position at the aquarium once I graduate from the university and get transferred.” Severa explained as she set down her mug. 

Avery gained a shocked expression. “Really?! Does she know that?”  

“Nope.”

“Did you decide it?”

“I had a choice between the trainees and I decided on Corrie a while ago. Boss was going to announce it near the end of the year; probably during the annual holiday party.” Severa shrugged, before taking another drink. This was good cocoa.

“Oh my god.” Avery laughed. “You gotta tell me what happens then, okay?”

“I think Josh and Marice want to stream it.”

“They are seriously getting into streaming everything, are they not?”

“Oh yeah. They’ve pitched a ‘behind the scenes’ series for the aquarium already to the boss.”

“Oh really? I would love to see that!” Avery let out a laugh.

“Why? It’s not like anything interesting happens back ther-” The young woman shook her head, looking at the friend trying to respond.

“That is bullshit, Sevy. You all are always doing something back there- even those pranks of yours are fun!” Avery disagreed, laughing. “What about the time you switched the soundtracks to polka music and it took days for Velma to even notice?!”

Severa blinked then snickered to herself. “Oh yeah… it took a while for me to get Chad and his team on board for it. Velma chased me down the halls when she figured it out.”

“How did you get them to agree with their plans again?”

“50 bucks a piece.”

“Your pranks are expensive.” Avery laughed again. She set down her own mug, having finished the contents a moment ago. She pushed it back a little as she placed her arms on the island before her.

Severa shrugged. “It was worth it. It was annoying, but harmless which is the best kind of prank.”

“True.”

Severa and Avery began to talk about other pranks Severa pulled off from ones in the aquarium to the ones from their childhood. The warmth of the conversation wrapped itself around Severa’s very soul and she couldn’t hold back the pure emotion coming up in response. She was so lucky. The hot chocolate seemed cold by comparison.

* * *

 

Time slipped away until an alarm rang through the apartment seizing all the conversations going on. Avery pulled out her phone from her pocket.

“It has gotten late.” Avery turned off the alarm on her phone as she continued on. “It is nearly 8. The bar opens at 9, so I got to go.”

“No!” Severa whined, reaching for Avery as the older girl stood from her seat. “Someone else can open it. Stay her-”

Avery laughed. “I cannot do that and you know it.”

Severa groaned at the statement and let her hand drop to the table. “Fine. Leave me why don’t you?”

“Ah, always we must part. Your voice always brings me back though, _sirena_.” The two giggled at the display.

“You belong behind the camera, not in front.”

“I must agree wholeheartedly.” Avery turned to the couch and called for her bitty.

Serafino didn’t pop up when Avery called, so she looked at Severa who shrugged. Avery stood from her seat then moved closer to the fort and called for Serafino again. Once she could see into it, she saw the three staring up at her in surprise.

“It is time to go?” Serafino asked slowly. Avery nodded in answer.

“Yes, I called you twice, Serafino.”

“...Oh. My apologies. I hadn’t heard you then.”

Avery rose her eyebrow but nodded at her bitty’s explanation. “Alright then. Anyway, we need to go, so I can open the bar.”

“It is truly that late already?”

“Yes, Firefly. It is time to leave my hovel once again unless Avery wants to-”

“I’m gonna to stop you right there, sirena.” Avery holds her hand out to Serafino, so he can step up. “You are not allowed to be here without me for the time being. She really might just keep you.”

Serafino glanced toward Severa who was grinning widely and couldn’t help himself. “If it is Severa…”

“Ahhhh- nope! Nope!” Avery cuts off Serafino and Severa erupted into laughter. Even Serafino was letting out some chuckles as Avery went back to grab her things after she set her little teaser on her shoulder. “I will see you later, sirena!” Avery was out the door then, leaving a heaving Severa.

“B-Bye!” Severa managed to get speak out long after Avery was gone. It took a while more for Severa calm down and her stomach lets out a loud growl. “Oh, dinner time. You guys have any requests?” Severa asked while focused in the skeletons' direction. They moved to the island during the laughter.

“No?”

“Alright. Chicken parmesan, it is.” Severa stood from the chair to see if she had the necessary ingredients around the kitchen. She paused in her search when Blue spoke out.

“Serafino Told Us.”

“Told you what?” Severa asked. She decided to open her fridge. Did she have any chicken unthawed? She checked and gave a silent cheer with she noticed she did. She turned her head though when she heard Pap speak.

“How You Used To Be…” Pap trailed off, beginning to shovel his feet. It didn’t go unnoticed by Severa. Although, the statement took a few moments for a connection, when it did Severa looked at the duo.

“Oh, okay.” Severa nodded then went to return to her search for more ingredients. She had the chicken, then what about the sauce and needed spices? 

“Aren’t You Upset?”

“About what?”

“Serafino Telling Us…?”

“Nope. That’s not something I’m gonna be mad about when it’s true.” Severa shrugged.

“...Why?”

“Do you mean why as in ‘why I acted like a complete brat to him’ or why as in ‘why am I not mad’?”

“Both??” Pap spoke for a moment.

Severa stopped. She shut the cabinet door she was checking and turned to the bitties. She crossed her arms and hugged them close to her body. “I answered the second question already. It is true, so I won’t be mad. There is no point in me getting upset about the truth. And to answer the other question…” Severa thought to herself, going silent until she opened her mouth. “Serafino is important,” Severa explained after a long silence. She took a breath and continued on. “He… is the reason- the main reason I was able to take you two in.” They should know after all. That was the right thing..., right?

The bitties were silent during the exchanged(?).

“It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. The truth of what bitties were- truly were. I never thought of your being as pets, but… you more than what I thought originally.” Severa sighed openly. “Being around Serafino was definitely the driving force for this current… predicament.”

“Serafino Said You Acted Different To Him On Your First Meeting Than Ours.”

“...Yes.” Severa looked away.

“Why?”

“Jealousy.”

“WHAT?!”

“I was jealous,” Severa repeated. She clutched at her upper arms. “I was jealous of someone new coming in- of _him_ coming in.”

“...”

“I was…” Severa stopped talking. “I don’t like people coming in, okay? In reality, Serafino did nothing. He truly didn’t.”

“But He ‘Came In’, right?” Blue reiterated.

“Yes, but I knew that. Avery was going there for a while, and I went with her several times to… make a statement to myself. And yet…” Severa sighed. “I was… my behavior toward Serafino is inexcusable, but it could be worse. That doesn’t matter to me as I can see now how important he is. He is important to me, to Abby, but oh so important to Avery… so very important, loved, and _everything_ to Avery.”

The bitties were silent as they took everything in. The air around them was heavy even when a chime rang out. Severa moved and grabbed after her phone. “... Avery.”

Severa blinked as she read the text. “She wants to come back over soon with the firefly.” Severa’s eyes remained on her phone while having a small smile on her lips. There was more to the message. The smile fell as she read on then let out a small sigh. “You two…” She glanced toward the bitties. “Would you two be okay with them coming back over soon?”

“...Yes.” Pap responded with Blue being quiet, but the baby blue didn’t seem against it.

Severa nodded at the answer and gave a weak smile with matching “Cool”. She locked her phone and put the electronic on the kitchen counter then resumed trying to locate the ingredients. She focused on the breading for the chicken first. It should be somewhere in the cabinets if she recalled correctly. The area around the trio went quiet but filled with the sounds of Severa’s rummaging. For some reason, Severa felt something crawling on her back.

* * *

 

It was after dinner. The young woman was able to locate everything and make the meal in a timely manner even with, Blue and Pap’s sudden _helpfulness_. The duo were shoving it into the mouths and enjoyed it (if the smiles on their faces were any indication). The dishes were left in the sink for Severa to deal with later, the bitties returned to the fort and currently, Severa sat on the edge of her bed staring down at her phone with a dull expression. The message from Avery was on the screen. The message that asked if the firefly and she could visit again soon and other things.

Severa was going through the conversation she had after she responded.

> **[Avery]** _Sirena_ , today was good! Serafino wanted to know if we could come by again soon. He seemed to enjoy having other bitties around. And there is something else.
> 
> **[Severa]** They are okay with that
> 
> **[Avery]** Wonderful!
> 
> **[Avery]** Oh and the other thing, you need to get them checked out.
> 
> **[Severa]** ?
> 
> **[Avery]** The bitties. Serafino said they were low on magic? That’s my assumption. He just said ‘they were low’.
> 
> **[Severa]** Oh. that’s weird, but okay.
> 
> **[Avery]** Soon, Sev and take your meds! You were kind of spacey today.
> 
> **[Severa]** okay, mom
> 
> **[Avery]** :)

Severa let out a heavy sigh as she thought over the message. The bitties were low? On magic? What did that mean? She guessed the trip to Mama Cry’s was going to be sooner than before whether they (and she) liked it or not. Today was... too much. She would deal with it later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of Avery's visit, plus a bit more! This was a relatively short chapter compared to the others, but this was meant to be part of the other one. The next chapter should be a longer one.
> 
> Oh, and just to clarify if it was difficult to understand - Severa doesn't like new people coming into her space and when Serafino was coming in, she wasn't happy about it. Even if she logically knew it was a fine thing and had no real connection with her. Due to this, she was rude to the new addition until they were able to find ground. That's the gist of it at least.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it and comments, kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> [My Ko-Fi](https://ko-fi.com/candlelitshadows/)
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://candlelightshadows.tumblr.com/)


	9. Author's Note

Hello there!

February really flew by or is just me? Sorry, this isn't a new chapter. That's actually what I want to talk about. I don't know when the next chapter is going to come out. This past January and February have been... busy to say the least. The newest chapter isn't very done at the moment  ~~(seriously I have only written like 2 pages-)~~ and I probably won't be able to get very much done for a while longer. It has been nearly two months since my last update and I try to update every other month, but this time around... I don't know if I'll even be able to get it updated in March. It makes me rather upset too since the first year anniversary of this story was February 2! I posted this over a year ago and I made it to chapter 8! 

Anyway, I could go into a long winded explanation on how I'm busy and blah, blah, but who cares. It's family-related responsibilities and work. That's why I am busy and haven't had the time to write. Mostly. Want to know the other reason? The next chapter is boring to me. Nothing really happens and it's taking me forever to figure out how it should go down. I am  _still_ trying to brainstorm ideas and things for the chapter. But I want to write. I want to work on this story even if it's related to outside things! I just don't know what to write! So I thought- maybe you guys had ideas? Is there something you'd like to see more of while waiting for the next chapter? More August, or Avery or, hell, characters that were only mentioned? There is a lot more to the world than just Severa and the bitties, after all. I just don't know what to write. Now, there are some things that I can't write since spoilers which is probably a big reason why I can't figure out what to write... All of them would be going under the [Runaways - Sidestories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263019/chapters/40596668). 

On another note, I will be trying to write the next chapter in the meantime. The thing is it will not be getting uploaded until I am also nearly finished with what will be chapter 10. This note will be replaced with the  _actual_ chapter then hopefully a few days after that, the next chapter(10) will be uploaded. Now, why am I going to do that? Simple. Chapter 10- shit happens. Fun shit. Shit, I have been planning since the beginning and something I have been looking forward to. It also means that things will finally start moving! Yay! It'll be a "thank you for waiting so long". Double update special!

Thank you for reading this and apologies(again) that isn't a new chapter. It is just me rambling for a while. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed the chapter of this little bittybones au story I'm working on. I'd like to explain some things related to this story for future reference, so please stay until the end. The tags mention that I will be updating them down the road which is true. I'm currently finalizing the events of the story and I am indecisive as ever. 
> 
> It might take a bit for me to do so because of it... Sorry for that! I doubt the rating will go up though, since the main goal of this is fluff. I swear. Or maybe I'm just deluding myself...
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


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